


Manifestations of the Imagination

by DaydreamingSkeptic



Category: Peter Pan & Related Fandoms, Peter Pan (2003), Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie
Genre: And also emotionally destroying perfection, F/M, Gen, I didn't even know Peter Pan had a fandom, Jason Isaacs' Hook was hot as hell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-22
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-02-14 07:39:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2183469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaydreamingSkeptic/pseuds/DaydreamingSkeptic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jenna Lois, nineteen, awakens in Neverland, with no knowledge of how she got there, or how she will get back home. With no other option but to live on the Jolly Roger, Jenna is presented with challenges that she never thought she would face. Challenges such as adventures, friendships, and her newfound attraction to the infamous pirate captain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everybody, and welcome to my new fanfic! This is my second attempt at a decent story, and I appreciate all kinds of reviews, even though flamers are not so enjoyable. I haven't had the wonderful experience of receiving one yet, but I guess it's only a matter of time... 
> 
> Anyway, this is a Hook/OC pairing, so please let me know what you think of Jenna!
> 
> Okay, so enjoy!

She wasn't dreaming.

She knew she most definitely was not dreaming.

Jenna Lois had always rolled her eyes at stories in which the character didn't know if their situation were a dream or reality. Granted, you did not always realise you were dreaming in said dream, but nobody could ever truly mistake being awake for even the most lucid of dreams. So why, she asked herself incredulously, had she awoken to shrill bird calls and waves lapping around her body?

Jenna propped herself up on her elbows, grimacing as her shirt stuck wetly to her back. The whole underside of her body was covered in wet sand, as she had been laying in the shallow tide. The salty wind whipped her mousy brown hair around her face, the bright sun making her squint against its rays.

'Where am I?" Jenna pondered. Like she clarified before, there was no question as to her consciousness, so where was she and how on earth did she get here? Jenna stared out at the rippling waves of the sparkling ocean, trying to get a semblance of order in her jumbled brain. She remembered very clearly going to bed _in_ her bed. She remembered staying up too late finishing the novel she had to read for her Advanced English Lit. class the next morning. Yet she had no memory of how, when, or why she was on an island in the middle of nowhere.

Jenna decided that exploring the area could only be a good thing, so she stood, rather stiffly I might add, and turned to take in her surroundings. She was overcome with a strong sense of deja-vu as soon as her hazel eyes scanned the landscape.

From where she was standing, there was a tropical forrest, a lagoon, and there were pillars of smoke rising from behind the trees. That must be fire. Which means there must be people. _But they're on the other side of the island...well, I'd better get moving then._ Jenna thought to herself. She had never been here before; I mean, who could forget being here? Yet she had a very strong feeling that she knew this place. It was like she'd seen it, or read about it, but never actually been there.

It was hot, but there was a strong breeze, so the air was not so humid as to be uncomfortable. Her wet clothes however, were very uncomfortable. Jenna was not going to walk around in her underwear, but she figured that taking off her buttoned shirt and rolling up her jeans would be appropriate enough. She rolled her somewhat saturated jeans up to her knees, and tied her now not so white shirt around her waist.

"There." She said, as she pulled to tighten the double knot on the sleeves. Suddenly, a bright yellow light flitted past her. There it was again! Jenna tried to follow it with her eyes, but it was too fast. It flew about her head, making the oddest tinkling noise. The creature slowed, and hovered in front of Jenna. _It was...no it couldn't be. It was! It was a faerie!_ The tiny faerie was no more that six inches tall, with beautiful, delicate wings and bright red hair. It was making a frantic movement with its arms. It looked as if it were telling Jenna to run.

"Run? Why? What do you mean?" Jenna asked the faerie slowly. It continued to motion for her to go into the forrest, becoming more urgent. "Slow down! What do y-" A large hand clamped over her mouth.

"Mmmnn! Ahh!" Jenna bit down on the calloused hand, making the man cry out in pain.

"Ow! Quiet, you little chit!" The man gagged her, then roughly tied her hands behind her back. "Come on, Cap'n'll love this." Another man shoved her along the shore until they came to a small boat. The men violently pushed her into the boat, sitting opposite her. There was another man waiting who began to row.

"Now then." One began, "We'll take off yer gag if ya promise to keep quiet." Jenna nodded quickly and turned her head, so the man could untie the gag. She sat in silence for all of about thirty seconds. She couldn't take the lecherous stares any longer, really wishing that she had kept her shirt on.

"Where am I?" Jenna asked boldly.

The men laughed and grinned, baring their rotten teeth. "You don't know where yer are? Guys, she don' know where she is!" They guffawed stupidly then one leaned in, making Jenna wrinkle her nose at the stench of rum and cigars. "You, my pretty, are in Neverland."

Jenna just stared. Not from shock exactly, because it really was a logical answer. The faerie, the pirates, the fact that she knew the land; it was just so hard to believe.

"Neverland..." She repeated in awe. "It's just...I was reading about Neverland...but this isn't a dream..."

"What's you called then?" One of the pirates asked.

"Oh. I'm Jenna...Lois. And you?" She was a little shaken from her kidnapping, and did not expect to be asked any normal questions like that.

"I'm Bobby, this is Duke, and that's Carlos." He gestured to the pirate rowing he boat. "He's a mute. Had 'is tongue pulled out by his dad when he were fifteen." Jenna gaped, then snapped her mouth shut for fear of insulting the man.

"O-okay. Um. What happens when we get to the ship?" She asked nervously.

"We take you to the Cap'n." Bobby answered.

"Who _is_...?" Jenna urged.

The pirates shared looks saying something along the lines of _'Is she serious?'_

"And you say you've read about Neverland? Captain Hook of course! Who else?"

Jenna once again found herself speechless. "But he's dead...Isn't he?" Jenna had just finished reading Peter Pan, and it definitely ended with the demise of one Captain James Hook.

"No no no, he's more alive than ever!"

"But...the crocodile, it swallowed him, and, and-"

The pirates laughed good-naturedly at her ignorance. "Split the beast right open with 'is hook, he did!"

"Er, wow, I guess. So, you're taking me to Hook. Oh my god...Captain Hook. This is insane. This is insane." Jenna began to ramble in her rising panic. "He's going to kill me!"

"Nah, he won't kill ya. Not with Jill on board." Duke commented happily.

"Ah, 'ere we are, up ya get. Oh, and we've been brutal." Bobby said with a wink. With that, Duke slung Jenna over his shoulder and began to climb the rope ladder up to the ship.

"Ah! What the hell? Let me go!" And he did just that, dropping her unceremoniously onto the deck. Jenna pulled herself up into a sitting position, now really wishing she had kept her shirt on. She was grabbed by the arms and hauled up to stand. Jenna raised her chin, trying to have at least a modicum of dignity.

"Get the Cap'n!" Bobby called to no one in particular. A young boy who looked all of about fourteen years of age ran off towards what Jenna presumed to be Hook's cabin. Soon enough the boy returned, followed by the looming figure of Captain James Hook. The whole crew fell into silence immediately.

He was tall, imposing, formidable; dressed in a coat of a brilliant scarlet, his ebony curls cascading down his back and around his rugged features, and, as ever, his lethal hook glinted in the sunlight. He stepped towards where the crew had gathered around her, the pirates parting to let him through. His leather boots clicked dully on the wooden deck as he got closer and closer.

"Well, what do we have here?" Jenna's breath caught in her throat; his voice was deep and cultured- and dangerous. A mixture of feelings swirled around her mind. Fear and...was that attraction? No, that's absurd.

Hook stopped a foot away, smirking. _He is **far** too close for comfort,_ Jenna thought.

"And you are...?" Hook asked ominously.

Jenna stammered out her name, "Jenna L-Lois."

Hook nodded. "And why are you here, in Neverland, on my ship...especially dressed so... _enticingly_." Jenna shuddered, though whether it was from the breeze or the fact that the man before her had begun to trail his hook across her collarbone was open to debate.

"If you are unwilling to talk, I may have to simply gut you where you stand." Hook said nonchalantly, though he had reached behind her and grabbed a handful of her wispy hair.

"I-I don't know how I got here, I swear. I just woke up on the shore. I-ah!" Jenna yelped as he yanked her head back painfully.

"Don't lie to me, girl." Hook snarled, tugging on her hair again.

"James!" A commanding, feminine voice called from the higher decks. "Let her go immediately!" He growled and sliced his hook through the ropes tying Jenna's wrists. He shoved her away angrily and turned to face the woman. The crew snickered, but stopped at the glares from their captain.

" _What_ do you _want_ , woman!?" Hook asked impatiently. Jenna rubbed her wrists with bated breath, awaiting what would happen next. The woman in question jogged down the steps to the lower decks, walking right up to the imperious pirate captain.

"And here I was, foolishly thinking that you were a gentleman." Hook opened his mouth to argue but the headstrong woman cut him off, "I don't care who this person is, or what ulterior motives you believe she has for being in Neverland, she is a lady and shall be treated as such."

Jenna could practically feel the tension, and got a fright when Hook yelled, "What are you hanging around for, you scurvy dogs!? Get out of here!" The crew scurried off in different directions, leaving only Jenna, Hook, and the woman.

The woman turned from Hook and walked over to Jenna. She held out her hand with a smile, "I'm Red Handed Jill, and you must be Jenna Lois. I apologise for our Captain's dreadful conduct, as I'm afraid he hasn't had many beautiful young women on his ship for a quite a while." Jenna shook her hand gingerly, returning the smile to 'Red Handed Jill.'

Hook strode over to Jill and turned her to face him. " _What_ did I say about calling me that in front of the crew?"

Jill rolled her eyes, "It _is_ your name."

"Yes, but it is my _first_ name, and you should have the respect to at least call me by my title, _Wendy Darling_." He hissed aggressively.

Did I hear correctly? Jenna thought incredulously. Wendy Darling, as in _the_ Wendy Darling? She would have to ask later, as now she was being motioned for by said woman.

"So, you have a choice, Jenna Lois." Jill began happily, "You can either take residence with the crew, whom may I remind you have the most ghastly state of cabins, and have no measurable manners, or you can stay with the Captain, in his warm, clean, comfortable room. I would offer you my lodgings, except I am already sharing with Mr. Smee."

Jenna once again found herself speechless.

"There is no way in _hell_ that I am sharing my cabin with this... _girl!_ " Hook spat the the word viciously, as though she were dirt from the heel of his boot, though the unmistakable once over he gave her with his piercing blue eyes said differently. Jenna remembered her shirt and pulled it on defensively, doing up the buttons with haste.

"I'm afraid you'll have to Captain, she has nowhere else to stay. We can't just leave her to fend for herself in the forrest."

"Well why not? I'm sure Pan will find her sooner or later. She can stay with him." Hook said bitterly.

Something akin to hurt and a small flash of anger swept across Jill's face, but it was gone in an instant. "You know perfectly well why Peter cannot...will not, accommodate her. She is staying on the ship and that is final, so you had better prepare your cabin for a guest." And with that she turned swiftly and headed under the decks, presumably to her cabin.

Jenna stood awkwardly, trying to ignore the presence of one of the most fearsome pirate captains ever to sail the seven seas.

"You," Hook commanded, "come with me." Jenna followed, trying to keep up with his large strides, whilst keeping her balance on the swaying ship.

He walked up the steps and stopped at the door to his cabin. "It appears that I am to allow you to take lodgings with me." He said tightly. "Believe me, if there were another option, you would not be here, but as that is not the case..." Hook pushed open the heavy door, "Please, make yourself at home." He said sarcastically.

Jenna stepped into the cabin nervously, taking in the foreign surroundings. There was a large mahogany desk near the back of the room, littered with papers and ink and a box full of broken clocks. Against the wall stood a four poster bed, and right beside Jenna near the door was a piano.

_A piano? How can he play...? Maybe I'll ask him..._ Jenna thought to herself. The room was all colour coordinated in reds and deep browns. It looked sophisticated, and rather comfortable.

"I suggest you find Jill and borrow some adequate clothing." Hook disturbed her musings sharply. "She will most likely be with the rest of the crew." He looked disdainfully at her, hinting that she leave him in peace.

"Er," Jenna began nervously, "Can you, um, actually play?" She asked, gesturing towards the grand piano in the corner of the room.

Hook drew himself up to his full height, "Of course I can play. Why else would I have a piano?"

Jenna shrugged her shoulders, then asked, "Could you...play now? Just a little bit, I mean, if you want to. I'm just curious, how you'd play, you know, because of your hook and everything. Sorry, I'm rambling. I ramble when I'm nervous."

Hook smirked, walking over to the piano and sitting down, preparing to play. "Really, I had no idea that I was making you nervous, Jenna." Her name sounded sultry and sinful from his lips, making Jenna lose focus for a second.

"Let me think, what would you know...?" Hook pondered out loud. "Ah, yes." He brought his hook and hand down elegantly on the keys, and began to play Fur Elise.

Jenna could only listen and watch in awe, as quick fingers and sharp metal danced across the keys. Hook stopped after about thirty seconds, then smirked at her arrogantly.

"That was really good. It was just, wow." Hook stood and walked over to the desk, noticing a thoroughly destroyed pocket watch and tossing it into the box with a loud clatter.

"Well? Clothes, go!" He made a shooing gesture, walking towards her, bustling her out of the cabin. "If she's not with the crew, then she will be in her cabin. Now go!"


	2. Chapter 2

Jenna slowly walked down the steps to the crew's cabin, the wooden stairs creaking with her every move. The door was ajar, and the sound of rowdy pirates and drunken singing could be heard from the other side of it. She pushed the door open and cautiously entered the room.

Jenna was greeted with the sight of twenty or so men sat at tables or laying in bunks and hammocks. They were smoking, drinking, and playing card games. Jenna scanned the room in search of Jill, finding her leaning against the back wall, in a conversation and sharing a bottle of rum with who she presumed to be Mr Smee. Jenna weaved her way through the tables and pirates, trying not to make eye contact with any of them. Jill noticed her approaching and waved her over.

"Ah, this is Miss Lois then?" Mr Smee asked with a kindly smile.

Jill smiled too and nodded. "Yes. And how are you so far? I hope our captain hasn't given you too much trouble."

"Er, no. No trouble. He's been nice. He played the piano. It was nice." _What are you saying? Get a grip! Nice? You are not an English major for using the word 'nice.'_ Jenna scolded herself strongly. She didn't notice Jill roll her eyes and share a look with Smee.

"Really? He played the piano for you?" Jill deadpanned. "I don't believe this. He's known you two minutes and he's already showing off!" Smee just grinned knowingly.

Jenna was a little confused, but brushed it off. "Yeah, he er, told me to get clothes from you, so..." Jill took a swig from the bottle and offered it to Jenna. "Oh, thank you, but no. I've never tried rum before."

Jill laughed and replied, "This stopped being rum a _long_ time ago. No, just water I'm afraid. Personally, I don't touch the stuff. It tastes horrid, and I've seen enough inebriated pirates to keep me far, _far_ away." She offered the bottle again and this time Jenna took it.

Jenna didn't realise how thirsty she had been, as she gulped down the water with a sudden eagerness. "Come to think of it, you must be hungry Miss." Smee stated.

"Yes, you must eat. But first things first; clothing. Come with me and I'll find you something to wear." Jill gestured for her to follow, so she did. Jill took her past the rest of the crew and opened a door, going inside and heading towards a chest by one of the small beds. The room was much smaller than Hook's, but it seemed cozy enough.

Jill rummaged through the chest for a few moments, retrieving some neatly folded clothes and a pair of boots.

"I think these will fit, it's lucky we're a similar size." Jill said, placing the clothes on the bed. "I would wait outside, but you should know that privacy on this ship is somewhat a privilege, so I will stay. But I'll turn my back if you wish." She offered.

Jenna waited until Jill had faced the wall before properly looking at the clothes. She held up what appeared to be a white poet's shirt, then inspected the pair of black leather boots. They came up to her knees and had a slight heel, and matched very well with the leather breeches on the bed. "Can I even pull off leather breeches?" Jenna asked herself out loud as she unbuttoned her shirt.

"Oh, I assure you they're not so tight as to be unable to take off." Jill said sincerely. Jenna tried hard not to giggle.

"I didn't mean it literally. To 'pull off' just means to be able to wear something a little daring and still look good in it."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll 'pull them off,' so to speak." Jill replied.

Jenna smiled and pulled the billowy poet's shirt over her head, then took off her drier but still sandy jeans. Jenna eyed the breeches dubiously and picked them up off the bed. She was about to step into them when-

"Jill you are needed on deck. He's trying to-" Captain Hook stood in the open doorway, stopped by Jenna's squeak of shock and embarrassment. Jenna clumsily tugged on the breeches to cover her bare legs, succeeding in drawing more attention to herself and flushing bright red.

Hook averted his eyes. "My apologies. I did not realise that you were in here. Jill, decks. Now." And with that he left as suddenly as he had entered, closing the door behind him.

Jill glanced quickly from Jenna to the door, then back to Jenna. Jenna just stared in mild shock until Jill burst out laughing.

Jenna scowled and sat down on the bed, tugging on the surprisingly comfortable boots. She stood and walked around the cabin, testing her new outfit.

"Come here, you need to tie the laces." Jill said. Jenna reflexively reached for a boot, realising the laces were on the shirt.

"Well, I'd rather not leave everything...on show." Jenna said, as she saw that the laces reached half way down the shirt. Jill reached out and tightened the laces down the front, then tied them with a knot before the two top eyelets.

"There. Now you look like a real pirate!" Jill commended as she appraised Jenna's new outfit.

"Yes, I suppose I do. What now?" Jenna asked eagerly as they made their way back towards the decks.

"You can eat now if you wish, but apparently there's a situation on deck, and I'm _desperately_ needed."

"Oh, no, I can wait if it's serious." They reemerged onto the decks, and were met with the angry yells of their captain; and the mischievous calls of a boy.

"For heaven's sake." Jill complained. "He always decides to torment us at the most inconvenient of moments."

Jenna followed as she ran to the mainmast, narrowly dodging the hectic crew members.

"Come on Hook! Where is she? I shall smite her with my sword and kill her where she stands!" The ivy clad boy swooped down, landing by the side of the ship, dodging effortlessly when a pirate lunged for him.

"You've been here, shall we say...maybe an hour? And already the whole of Neverland knows. News does travel fast around here." Jill commented. She ran over to where Hook and Peter were face to face, raring for a fight.

"Go home, Peter. If you must know, her name is Jenna Lois, and she is simply lost."

Pan's face contorted into a petulant frown. "I'm not listening to anything you say. You _grew up!_ And you became a pirate Wendy!"

That same look of hurt graced her face, except this time it stayed for longer than just a fleeting second. "I have explained this Peter. I _had_ to grow up; and I only joined Hook and the crew because _you_ refused to take me in! Just because I am a pirate does not make me your sworn enemy!"

"Yes it does!" Pan raged, charging blindly at Jill with his dagger outstretched. She caught his flailing limbs and held him at arms length.

He struggled out of her grasp and shot up into the air, hovering above their heads. "Well, I hope you enjoy your _man of feeling_." Pan said venomously, and with that he flew away, back into the forest.

Jill hung her head in defeat. "I told you, he's nothing but a malicious child. Don't think any more of it." Hook said consolingly.

"You're right. And besides, Peter will come around soon enough I'm sure." Jill said, trying to mask her obvious pain. "Jenna, would you like to eat? We can all eat now, together."

Jenna went along with her attempt to draw attention away from the recent turmoil, and answered, "Yes, that's fine, of course."

* * *

If you were to tell Jenna a day ago that she would be having a meal in the Captain's quarters of the Jolly Roger with Wendy Darling and James Hook, she would have probably told you that you were daydreaming too much. Yet here she was, dining with the famed so-called fictional characters she had read about.

"So I told him, I said, you shall drop your sword or face the wrath of my hook!" The captain proclaimed. He was in the middle of animatedly retelling a tale of long ago, of a fearsome battle between himself and another renowned pirate. "'Twas a fine battle indeed! But of course, you can see who came out alive." Hook boasted, raising his right arm and admiring his metal appendage.

Wendy smiled and shook her head, having heard his proud stories a million times over. Jenna watched and listened in rapture, in awe of him completely.

"Does it hurt still?" Jenna let the question slip before she thought about her words. Hook turned to her with a curious look. He was unsure whether Jenna was mocking him, or if she was genuinely interested.

"Now? No. But then?" He hissed in remembrance of the stinging, blinding pain as Pan cut off his hand, tossing it to that wretched crocodile and laughing like the cruel child that he is. "My anger overrode the pain somewhat. Now I feel myself privileged. It is _wonderful_ for gutting, ripping throats...combing my hair. And other such homely uses." Hook smirked as Jenna nodded in amazement.

"So, how did you get here exactly?" Hook asked.

"Oh, well...um. I don't know. I fell asleep, and then I woke up on the beach. I was kind of hoping you'd know actually." She said and smiled sheepishly.

"Ah, it has been so long since I arrived in this place. I believe Jill here would be the person to ask."

"Let me think." Wendy said. "Did you do any meaningful wishing that night?" She asked seriously.

Jenna shook her head, thinking that the question was a little silly. Though, considering her situation, she believed anything to be possible.

"And no faeries or flying twelve-year-old boys promising to take you away to Neverland? No, I think you're a little old for that particular method of transport."

"Nope, not that I remember." Jenna replied jokingly.

Wendy pondered this for a second before saying, "Honestly, it doesn't matter how you got here. What is important however, is finding you a way back, and teaching you how to live here until we do."

"Yes, but in the morning. I am far too tired." Hook lamented. Wendy laughed and they continued their meal.

* * *

_Well shit._ Jenna thought to herself, as she stood staring at Wendy as if she had two heads.

"What did you expect? There is simply no room for you anywhere else!" Wendy explained. "Unless you'd rather sleep on the floor of the crew's quarters."

Jenna was shocked and somewhat embarrassed at the prospect of having to share the Captain's bed, but it appeared as though she really didn't have a choice.

"Or perhaps we can drop you off on shore and you can sleep in the forest? I assure you that James is far less dangerous than some of the creatures in those woods." Hook shot her a glare at her use of his given name.

"I don't recall anyone inquiring as to my opinion on the matter? Maybe I don't want to share my bed with a stranger." Hook said stoically.

"Firstly, she is not a stranger, and secondly, grow up." Wendy replied. She proceeded to ignore Hook and turned to Jenna. "Really, he's not that bad, and it's only temporary." Wendy said kindly.

Jenna didn't want to, but she also didn't like the thought of sleeping on the floor. "Um. I promise to stay on my side of the bed...?" She offered in consolation. Hook huffed stubbornly and allowed them into his cabin.

"Right, well. You can sleep in what you're wearing Jenna, I'll give you fresh clothes in the morning." Wendy said. She headed out and shot the captain a warning glare over her shoulder.

"That woman, I swear." Hook said as he made his way over to the bed. He sat down on the edge and began tugging off his boots. He glanced up when he realised that Jenna hadn't moved from the doorway. "What? I don't bite."

Jenna walked over gingerly and sat down too. She also took off her boots and placed them neatly by the bed. She was actually beginning to feel better about it all until she turned around to see Hook pulling his shirt over his head.

Jenna blinked and stared, and couldn't help but feel a nervous flutter in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't going to lie to herself, he was pretty fit.

 _How very eloquent of you._ Jenna told herself sarcastically. She did _try_ not to stare, but he was just so captivating. He tossed his shirt onto a chair, and then began to unscrew his hook.

He glanced up from his right arm to see Jenna staring. "Yes?" He asked smoothly.

"Nothing." Jenna said quickly, looking at the floor. She continued to watch him however when he averted his gaze back to his hook.

Hook detached the deadly metal from the wood and leather harness covering his right arm and some of his torso. He placed it on the desk and reached to unbuckle the straps across his broad chest. He shrugged off the heavy contraption, leaving that too on the mahogany desk.

Jenna's eyes had focused on the end of his right arm; where a hand should have been but only a stump remained.

"Does it disgust you?" Hook asked bitterly, snapping Jenna out of her reverie.

"No, no, of course not."

"Good." He replied, stretching his back and arms. Jenna once again found herself watching, with that same fluttering in her stomach, as he stretched his taut muscles and groaned as he did so. Jenna blushed as a multitude of lewd images flashed across her mind at his groans.

"Well, get in then." Hook said as he pulled back the sheets. Jenna did as she was told without a word, finding herself to be much shyer without Wendy's company.

She tried to stay as much on her side of the bed as she could, laying down and pulling the sheets over herself. Hook leaned over to blow out the candles on the bedside cabinet, and too lay down.

"Goodnight." Jenna said bravely.

"Goodnight." Came Hook's muffled reply, as he had turned onto his front, his face into the pillow and hair brushed over one shoulder.

Jenna rolled onto her side, facing away from the man laying next to her, and let herself fall into slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick thing, I only just realised that all the main character's names begin with a J. Jenna, James, and Jill, (Silly me, I know.) so I've decided to just call Jill by her proper name as Wendy instead.


	3. Chapter 3

Jenna awoke slowly, and snuggled further into the warm embrace of the body next to her.

 _Wait. Warm? Embrace?_ Jenna's eyes snapped open, only to see fresh stubble and tangled black curls. As her senses gradually came back to her, she realised that she was pressed tightly to the Captain's sleeping form, her head resting on his right bicep, their legs entangled, and his other arm wrapped possessively around her waist.

Jenna tried to edge away, only to be pulled closer. Hook unconsciously held her to him, staying in a state of deep slumber.

 _No no no! How did this even happen?_ Jenna thought frantically. She wanted to move away, but she definitely didn't want to risk waking the man, so she stilled. Jenna noticed that not only was _his_ arm around her, but her right arm was also draped delicately over his narrow waist.

 _Oh._ Jenna thought; no, admitted. So it wasn't just Hook's unconscious need for human affection that had them in this predicament. _Well...It's not like this is **so** bad. He is quite...comfortable. And strong. And warm. And he's rather peaceful when he sleeps. I guess I should really enjoy this side of him while it lasts._

As if hearing her thoughts, Hook turned to lay on his back, gently pulling Jenna with him. Jenna shifted downwards to rest her head on his chest, and turned to wrap her hand fully around his hip. _Yes...this is...enjoyable._ She thought drowsily, as Hook's steady heartbeat and the calm rocking of the ship lulled her back to sleep.

* * *

Jenna awoke for the second time that morning to the sound of people moving about the cabin. She sat up and stretched, realising that she was now alone in the bed.

"Morning sunshine." A woman's voice said pleasantly. Jenna realised that it was Wendy. She was stood by her side of the bed, and had placed new clothes down for her.

"Oh, good morning." Jenna replied. "Thanks for the clothes." She smiled up at Wendy, finding immense comfort in her presence.

Wendy returned an assuring smile, and asked, "Did you have a good night's sleep? I know he did." Wendy gestured to the far side of the room, where Hook was stood, leaning over his desk, planning a route on a map. "He's usually a right beast first thing in the morning. He was surprisingly not that bad today. You must be a good influence!" She laughed, and Jenna couldn't help but smile too.

"Yeah, I had a really good sleep actually."

"Oh good. Well, I've left your clothes on the bed there, so get dressed and then meet me on deck, okay?" Jenna nodded in agreement. "Honestly, no sense of propriety, that man." Wendy scolded, referring to Hook, who was still wearing what he had to bed.

"And that means you too, Captain!" Wendy called over her shoulder as she left the cabin.

"Yes, yes. Nagging wench." Hook grumbled tiredly.

Jenna got out of the bed and stretched, watching the Captain curiously. He was writing on the map he was studying, marking off places in black ink. Hook placed the quill back in its ink pot, rolled up the map, and turned around to face Jenna. He crossed arms over his still bare chest, gazing across at her ominously. To Jenna, he looked just as dangerous now with his errant curls and impressive musculature, as he would if he were brandishing a sword or pistol.

"You promised to stay on your side of the bed." Hook said darkly. Jenna's eyes widened in fear, but she then exhaled a breath of relief, however, when a playful smirk graced his features.

"Yes, I did. I can't control myself when I'm asleep though." She answered boldly. "And if I remember correctly, it was you who was clinging to me, not the other way around."

Hook frowned, "Yes, well. You should be terrified. For all you know, I could be planning to force my advances onto you this very moment."

Jenna narrowed her eyes at the Captain, and said warily, "You wouldn't."

He sighed dramatically and uncrossed his arms. "No, I wouldn't; couldn't, really. Terribly bad form. Well, maybe if I was tremendously drunk and had lost all of my inhibitions."

"Oh, well, good." Jenna said strongly. "I'll remember to stay out of your way if you're really pissed then."

"Besides," Hook began, "why would I _need_ to force myself upon the fairer sex, when they all come willingly anyway?"

Jenna rolled her eyes at his arrogance, but didn't know whether she should wait to change or not, so she stood awkwardly by the bed, completely unsure of what to do or say.

"Are you not getting dressed then?" Hook asked sarcastically.

"Oh, right, yes. Sorry I- yes, okay." Jenna stumbled over her words as she reached for the clothes laid out for her. She turned her back so as not to let him see her embarrassment, changing her clothes and quickly as possible.

Jenna heard a loud clattering from behind her, soon followed by Hook's angry growls of frustration. She finished pulling on her boots and turned to see what was going on. The captain's scarred back was facing Jenna, and he appeared to be trying, in vain, to put on his harness. He had managed to put his right arm where it belonged, but the shoulder piece kept slipping off, and he could not reach for the length of leather that was meant to buckle across his chest.

"Need help?" Jenna offered gingerly. Hook turned around and glared at her.

"I am perfectly capable of putting it on myself, thank you." He snapped, all stubbornness and petulance.

"Fine." She said nonchalantly, heading for the door to the cabin.

Hook inhaled loudly, making his displeasure clear, and said, "If you must."

Jenna walked over to assist him, reaching out to hold the shoulder piece in place. She went around his back, handing him the length of leather which he slipped his arm through, and then pulled the adjoining strip tight across his chest, buckling it securely.

"Thank you." he muttered grudgingly.

"You're welcome." Jenna replied. "You know, it's okay to admit that you can't do everything without a little help sometimes."

Hook grabbed his white shirt off the back of the chair, put it on, and buttoned it up quickly. "We shall be sailing to the island and docking in the west port for supplies." he pronounced, _completely_ ignoring Jenna's last sentence.

"Right." Jenna sighed. "Wendy said she wants me to meet her on deck, so...I'm going to go."

"Good, good." Hook answered, distracted by the task of screwing said appendage on.

* * *

Jenna excited the Captain's cabin and peered over the stairs, trying to spot Wendy. _Ah, there she is._ Jenna thought to herself, as she saw Wendy by the mainmast, showing the young boy of the other day how to properly hold a sword. She went over to them and said hello to the boy.

"Hello Miss." He said timidly.

"Jenna!" Wendy greeted amiably. "Have you met Thomas?"

"I have now." Jenna replied, smiling at Thomas kindly.

"Most people call me Tommy." He said shyly.

"Tommy then." Jenna said.

"We were just in the middle of learning some swordsmanship, weren't we Tommy?"

He grinned and said, "Yep! Wendy agreed to teach me because Cap'n was too busy."

"Yes, and by too busy, he meant that he couldn't be bothered." Wendy said disparagingly.

"Well, I'm sure you're just as good a teacher." Jenna said brightly.

"I did learn from the best." Wendy replied, gesturing to Hook's cabin. "Did he mention if we're sailing today?" She asked.

"Yes, he said we're going to the island. West port, I think it was."

"Ah good. We're running low on a few things, fresh water being one of them. And no doubt you'll be getting some clothes of your own." She clarified. "And just a quick question Jenna; did he comb his hair this morning?"

Jenna laughed incredulously, "Sorry, what?"

"The Captain, did he comb his hair this morning?" Wendy appeared to be completely serious, but Jenna couldn't help but find it funny that she was inquiring as to whether Hook had combed his hair or not.

"Not that I saw." She giggled. "Why?"

" _Because_ ," Wendy began, "with the amount of beautiful hair that he has, and what with the way it curls so maddeningly, and considering how vain he is, you would think that he took the time and care to comb it properly. But no, he leaves it as it is 'too much effort and takes too long,' letting it tangle into the most awful knots, until he can barely even run his fingers through it, at which point I have to forcibly sit him down and make us both endure an endless session of combing out all the kinks and matted bits, with him swearing and threatening my painful demise every time the comb catches." She finished with a sigh.

"Well, I can see why you insist." Jenna laughed out. "You know, I can't help but think you're more his keeper than his first mate."

Wendy laughed and nodded her head, "Oh, I agree. Sometimes I wonder how he ever managed without me."

"Are you two ladies quite finished?" The topic of conversation demanded.

"Speak of the devil." Wendy said cheekily. "Are your ears burning, Captain?"

Hook eyed them suspiciously, but decided to let it go. "I plan to arrive at the island by eleven at the latest. The crew and I will take care of all the supplies, and you can go with Jenna for clothes and other necessities."

"Yes Captain." Wendy replied happily.

"Show her around. She needs to learn her way if she is to stay long." Hook said. He reached into an inner pocket of his deep black coat, and retrieved a bag. "This should be more than enough. And I do not want you to return having wasted my good money on frivolities." He handed the bag to Wendy, and she tied it safely to her belt.

"Of course not. You know me, I'm never one for such girlish things." She assured.

"Good, then we are ready to depart." Hook stated, and went over to stand upon the steps. He yelled out orders to the crew, and they all began preparing to set sail.

* * *

The water glimmered and sparkled, the waves flowing with ease. Jenna watched, entranced, as she leaned over the side of the ship.

"You'd better watch her." Hook warned, from his position steering the great ship. "Make sure the mermaids don't drag her in."

"She's fine." Wendy assured. "I was the same, if you remember."

"Yes, the ocean captures you, does it not? I was in love as soon as I sailed; my maiden voyage." Hook said, with a wistful tone to his voice.

"Hmm." Wendy agreed.

"How long do you believe she will be staying?" Hook asked curiously.

"I don't know. I can honestly say I've never encountered anybody who simply turned up, out of the blue."

"It is strange." Hook said. He picked up his telescope and lengthened it out, then took a quick look through the lens. "There, we'll be docked soon."

* * *

The Jolly Roger pulled into the port slowly, a few crew members climbing down to secure it to the harbour.

"I expect you back by nightfall." Hook instructed.

"Don't worry Captain, we'll keep track of the time." Wendy said with a smile. "Have fun!" She called, before linking her arm through Jenna's and dragging her off into the crowd.

The island was a hubbub of noise and activity. Jenna's senses were bombarded with the different things going on all around her. The sounds of men and women shouting and calling, and different music blaring from every new corner.

"I never even realised that there was another island. I always thought Neverland was just Pan's island." Jenna said.

"Oh, we all did. But then where do you suppose we got food and clothes and other things from?" Wendy replied.

"I guess I never really thought about it. It just...was."

"Then this will be a new and exciting experience for you." Wendy said with a grin.

Jenna happily followed along, taking in all of her surroundings. They negotiated through the heavy crowd, and stuck to the side of the path closest to the many stalls, shops, and inns. They passed such a variety of stalls; there were people selling jewellery, dresses, perfume, makeup, then others selling cigars, alcohol, and cheap weapons.

"As persuasive as they might be, never buy from the folks by the port. They're all swindlers, every single one of them!" Wendy called, catching the attention of a young man behind a fruit and veg stall.

The man recognised her voice immediately, and he turned and beamed at them. "Oi, oi! Hey lads, it's Red Handed Jill!" Wendy laughed and ran towards the stall, motioning for Jenna to follow.

"Long time no see, eh?" The man said, as he hugged Wendy tightly over the stall. "Mind the watermelons, love." He added, as one was nudged slightly from its precarious position.

"Oh, I've missed you Darius." Wendy lamented, squeezing his hand warmly. Darius was tall, leanly built but looked strong, and had short, slightly shaggy blonde hair. He had bright brown eyes, and was tanned from working outside all day.

"And I you." Darius replied, kissing her softly on the cheek.

" _Must_ you continue with all this exhibitionism?" Another young man moaned teasingly, as he came over from inside the shop behind the stall.

"It's hardly exhibitionism. And you're only jealous, because _we_ are in love, and all you have is an obnoxious bird." Wendy quipped jokingly. As if on cue, a loud Macaw flew down from seemingly nowhere, and landed on the other man's shoulder. Despite her comment, Wendy stroked it affectionately.

"Jack is not obnoxious. He just likes attention, is all." The man said, snatching his long brown plait from the parrot's beak. "Hey, who's your friend?"

Wendy looked as if she had forgotten all about Jenna for a second, but smiled at her kindly. "This is Jenna. Jenna, this is Darius and Samuel. She turned up, so we've, 'taken her under our wing,' so to speak." Jenna waved in greeting.

"We?" Samuel asked.

"Yes, the Captain and myself." Wendy said.

"Oh, him." Darius said sulkily.

"Yes _him_ , love. You'll have to get over it sooner or later, because he's not going anywhere." Wendy clarified sternly. "I am a member of the crew and he is my Captain, and that isn't going to change whether you like him or not." Darius only frowned and held her hand tighter.

"Sorry, did I miss something?" Jenna asked, confused.

"Oh, I'll explain later." Wendy promised dismissively.

"So, what brings you here on this fine day?" Darius asked.

"Just stocking up. But we're here 'til late, so we've plenty of time." Wendy replied happily.

"Ah, but we're working all day today. We've got an hour free 'round two-ish, but even then someone needs to man the stall." Samuel said, disappointed.

"I'm sure we could buy the things we need, meet back here, and then for a while." Jenna suggested.

"What a wonderful idea, let's do that." Wendy agreed.

"Sounds like a good plan." Darius said, as he exchanged a bag of apples for a few coins.

"See you later." Samuel called, as they said goodbye and carried on through the busy crowd.

* * *

"We need to go to Beatrix for your clothes, Magdalena for your hair comb, soap and shampoo and all that, and Tabitha...well, Tabitha is just to say hello. I don't think you'll be needing to go to Tabitha's for any other reason." Wendy informed Jenna, as they walked through the mass of people and past all the noisy stalls. They came to a corner with a large sign hanging from the wall, which read, 'Madame Ingrid's Clothing Haus.'

"Here we are." Wendy opened the door and went inside, setting the bell atop the door chiming. Jenna followed confidently into the shop, to be met by the friendly and zealous owner, Beatrix.

"Wendy, my darling! It has been too long, you must visit more often!" Beatrix exclaimed, hugging her tightly.

"I know, I know. We only come to the island when we need to." Wendy said.

"I expect you need clothes for this young lady, then?" Beatrix asked.

"Yes. This is Jenna, she's new." Wendy explained.

"Hello." Jenna greeted happily. Beatrix smiled warmly, giving Jenna the impression of motherly love.

"Ah, another member of your ever-growing crew." She said.

"Well, not _my_ crew." Wendy corrected.

"No, no, Captain Hook's crew of course. Now, _there's_ a fine specimen of a man." Beatrix said, fanning herself with her hand.

"Oh hush, you." Wendy said playfully, swatting the older woman's arm.

"I'm only teasing. Though, really, he _is_ gorgeous." Beatrix replied.

"Are you giving us what we need or not?" Wendy asked sternly, but jokingly.

"Right this way, dears." Beatrix instructed, walking down to the other end of the room. "I assume you'll be wanting more of those indecent breeches you wear, hm?"

"You cannot expect us to work on a ship in an endlessly layered dress." Wendy answered.

"Naturally. It was worth a try though. Positively indecent, they are." She said, as she retrieved a tape measure from her pocket. She swiftly took Jenna's measurements before she could even acknowledge the fact, then zipped off through a door behind her counter.

"She'll be back in a minute." Wendy assured.

Sure enough, Beatrix returned in a matter of minutes, with her arms full of clothes. She placed them down on the counter and separated the large pile.

"Now, dear," She began, "here we have your breeches, these are your shirts, and I've brought a few waistcoats as well."

"Thank you." Jenna said, trying on one of the loose waistcoats.

"And you can tie them around the middle, like this." Beatrix said, showing her the ribbon around the waist.

"They're great! A lot different from what I'm used to." Jenna said, grinning.

"I'm glad you like them, because that's all you'll be wearing as long as you're on that ship!" Beatrix laughed good-naturedly.

"It's okay, I don't mind."

They went on to purchase undergarments and two pairs of good, long-lasting boots.

"There, all sorted in the clothes department." Wendy said, as they payed at the counter.

"I'll make a little discount, seeing as it's you, dear." Beatrix said, handing her back two of the gold coins.

"Oh, there's no need. Besides, it not my money anyway." Wendy replied, pushing them back across the surface.

"No, I insist." Beatrix said decisively, placing them in her palm and squeezing kindly.

" _Fine."_ Wendy relented. "But you're only loosing out."

"Oh, hardly." Beatrix replied. "Now off you go, you can't loiter around here all day."

Wendy and Beatrix hugged goodbye, and they left the shop, making their way back into the fray.

"She was nice." Jenna commented, as they carried on towards their next destination. Wendy took her down alleyways between shops, shortcuts through narrow passageways, further into the labyrinthine island.

"Yes, she is. So is Magdalena. Who happens to be...right here!" Wendy said, as they rounded a corner and came to another large shop. "I'm warning you now, she's very hands on." She laughed.

They entered the shop, and Jenna saw that it was far more extravagant and girly than the clothing shop. The walls were lined completely with shelves, all packed full of cosmetics. Hair products, makeup, perfume; there seemed to be an endless amount of it. The place was also a hairdressers, Jenna quickly realised, as at the back of the room, there were chairs and mirrors.

"Maggie?" Wendy called. The woman in question popped out from around a jutting wall at the back of the room, running over when she saw it was Wendy.

"Wendy, Wendy! I haven't seen you in far too long." The beautiful woman had long, shining black hair, piled high atop her head and falling down her back. She had a Spanish accent, and smelled strongly of rose and spices. "Have you finally decided to spend your money on something worthwhile?"

"Oh yes, because makeup is something we sorely need." Wendy said sarcastically. "Hook would kill me if I spent all his money on perfume and the likes."

"Oh, but what I wouldn't do to get my hands on his hair." Magdalena said wistfully. "Marvellous, every hairdressers dream, darling."

"Ha! Tell him that! He can hardly be bothered to comb it!"

Magdalena gasped in horror. "No! He must take the most care of it!"

"It's wasted on him, really. Now, the reason we came. Jenna needs a comb, shampoo, soap, the usual."

Magdalena went right up to Jenna and stated running her fingers through her hair. "A pretty name for a pretty girl! You're hair is so soft!" And with that, she whisked off to retrieve the items.

She came back soon after skimming the shelves for what she was looking for. She handed over a bottle of shampoo, a pack of soaps, and a pretty hair comb.

"All sorted, Jenna. That's it?" Magdalena asked.

"Yep." Jenna replied.

"Are you going anywhere else today?" She asked Wendy.

"We're just going to say hello to Tabitha, and then we're meeting Samuel and Darius back by the West port."

A look of distaste marred Magdalena's pretty features. "I don't know why you even set foot in that place to start with. It disgusts me. Women are not objects, and to even associate with her...it is just wrong."

"I'm sorry, Maggie, but Tabitha is my friend, regardless of what her employment entails." Wendy said firmly.

"Fine, if you wish to befriend a whore, then that is no concern of mine." Magdalena said nastily.

"Maggie!" Wendy admonished. "You are better than that! Can we please just forget this?"

"Of course, my darling." She said, instantly changing back to her original state of excitable sweetness.

"Right. Goodbye Maggie." Wendy said, and nudged Jenna out of the shop with her.

"Wow, what was that?" Jenna asked incredulously.

"Maggie does not agree with the fact that one of my friends is a...prostitute. I can't say I agree with it either, but as long as Tabitha is happy, healthy, and has a place to live, I'm not going to stop her."

"Oh. I guess not. I can't really say, I've never met her."

"Well, she really is one of the nicest people. Very mild-mannered, and terribly sweet. Can't say the same for some of girls she works with though."

Jenna decided not to comment as she followed Wendy to what she presumed would be a brothel of some sort. She couldn't say she was fully comfortable with going there, but if Wendy was okay with it, then that made her feel a lot more assured.

* * *

They finally came to the building. It looked inconspicuous enough, but Jenna really hoped she wouldn't have to go inside. Wendy had other ideas though, as she walked right on in, paying no mind to the strange looks they got given their way. Jenna followed behind as usual, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

Wendy went up to a young woman standing by a counter. "Excuse me, is Tabitha Linton anywhere about?"

The woman gave her an odd look and said, "You mean Angel? She's with a client at the moment." She tossed her hair behind her bare shoulders, glancing condescendingly at them both. "I don't recommend waiting, someone might mistake you for one of us."

Wendy glared at the woman. "I doubt it."

"Ha! With those clothes." She retorted viciously.

"I don't believe you are in any position to be commenting on _my_ attire, Miss..?"

"The name's Belle."

"Hardly." Wendy muttered, as she sat down on one of the chaise longues lining the walls. Jenna sat beside her gingerly, not used to seeing this more catty side of the storyteller.

"Well that was new." Jenna said bluntly.

"Oh, they can be so...so...venomous, sometimes. They always presume you're trying to offend." Wendy lamented.

"It seems so." Jenna agreed. "Soo...how long do you think we'll have to wait?" She asked awkwardly.

"I have no idea. Let's say we'll wait for ten minutes, and if she doesn't appear by then, then I'll just leave a message and we can go."

"Alright." Jenna answered.

They waited in complacent silence for five minutes, until they were disturbed by a nasty, yet utterly beautiful woman.

"Oh _my_! _What_ a _coincidence_!" She began, a fake smile plastered over her face. "Well if it isn't Red Handed Jill. This really is a _wonderful_ turn of events!"

Wendy rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Clara?"

"Oh, now why would you presume I wanted anything from you? I just wanted to tell you _all_ about my latest client."

Wendy narrowed her eyes in warning. "Don't you dare."

Clara laughed hollowly. "But he was _so good_. I though seeing as you're here, I should enlighten you to the pleasures of your brilliant Captain."

"Leave them alone Clara. Stop being vulgar and get back to work." Another woman called.

" _Fine._ If I must. But you're missing out...!" She said as she wandered back down the corridor.

The other woman hurried over with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about her. She's so rude."

"Tabitha!" Wendy greeted warmly, embracing her friend. "How are you?"

"I'm good, getting by. You?"

"Perfectly. I'd like you to meet Jenna, the newest on board."

"It's nice to meet you Jenna. I'm Tabitha." The two women shook hands. "I'm afraid I can't stay long. Busy day today, I've got another client in..." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Precisely fifteen minutes. I've got to wash and redo my hair and makeup in that time. Sorry."

"It's okay, at least we got to say hello." Wendy said, disappointed.

"Cheer up, you'll see me soon enough." Tabitha said happily.

"Of course." Wendy agreed as they headed for the door. "Goodbye!" Tabitha waved sweetly until they had shut the door behind them.

"Back to the boys then?" Jenna asked once they were outside again.

"Yes. Do you want to pick up some food along the way?"

"Mm, definitely. I'm so hungry." Jenna said eagerly.

"Me too. I know a great place near here."

* * *

They spotted Darius' stall over the crowd, and waved the bags of food they had brought over their heads.

"They brought food. So she _does_ have her uses!" Samuel joked.

"Very funny Sam. Who says they brought food for _you_ , anyway?" Darius replied.

"Doesn't matter. He'll just eat it all regardless." Samuel said, ruffling his parrot's feathers.

"True." Darius mused in agreement.

"Hello again." Jenna said as she handed them both a paper bag each. They dived in, ravenous from working in the blazing sun.

"This is proper quality stuff, must've cost you a bit." Samuel said as he bit into his sandwich.

"Don't worry, you don't have to pay us back, if that's what you're getting at." Wendy said.

"No, of course not. I'm just saying. Thanks."

"Ha, I'm not paying either." Wendy said.

"He's not with you, is he?" Darius asked suspiciously.

"I think you'd know if he were, love. His ego would take up half the space for starters."

"Yeah, what is this? This hostility between you two?" Jenna asked curiously.

"Ah." Wendy began.

"He's a possessive twat, that's what it is." Darius cut in angrily.

"We appear to have touched upon a delicate subject for twelve-year-old Darius over here." Samuel teased.

Wendy shook her head and smiled. "What happened is, that when I came to Neverland, for the second time that is, and joined Hook's crew, he grew a very strong...attachment, to me. He will never admit it, by the way, so don't even bother asking him about it. Anyway, seeing as I was the only person to not be afraid of him and show him some kindness, he reacted rather badly when I started my relationship with Darius. As he put it, Hook was quite...possessive."

"Sounds messy." Jenna said worriedly.

"It very nearly was." Darius said. "I've got a huge scar down my front because of him!"

"And that only increases my caution of not getting on his bad side." Jenna said.

"Don't worry. You're only in trouble if his eyes flash red. It's a thin line between irritation and murderous rage with him." Wendy advised.

"I've always wanted to know how he did that." Samuel said.

"I don't recon you'll be thinking that when he's about to slice you in two, Sam." Darius said, giving his friend a funny look.

"Still. You've got to admit it's pretty cool though."

"Yeah, in a 'life flashing before your eyes' kind of way."

Wendy made a noise of derision. "You make him sound like some kind of monster!"

Darius gave her an odd look and said slowly, "Well...he is, isn't he?"

Jenna's eyes widened in surprise at this. She didn't realise how strongly, and negatively, people thought of the pirate captain. Wendy's features showed an expression of hurt, even though Darius didn't insult _her_ in the slightest.

"No." Wendy replied firmly. "He's...an enigma."


	4. Chapter 4

After having spent the rest of the day wandering the island with Darius, Samuel, and Wendy, Jenna was feeling understandably exhausted when they finally made their way back to the Jolly Roger in the evening.

"Promise me you'll visit again soon." Darius said lovingly, as he and Wendy stood by the great ship, sharing a moment under the setting sun.

"I will. As soon as we can." She replied, embracing him tightly. Jenna snuck over to the hanging rope ladder and climbed up onto the ship, leaving the lovers to say their goodbyes. She leaned against the wooden side, watching them from above.

"I suppose they think they are being romantic." A deep, unmistakeable voice said from behind her. Jenna hadn't heard the man's footsteps, and she couldn't say it didn't unnerve her.

"Well, yes, they are." She replied, glancing back at Hook as he came to join her.

He only chuckled darkly, and fixed his piercing eyes on the couple below, "Romance. Love. Such...childish notions."

Jenna turned her body to face the Captain, her attention now drawn away from Wendy and Darius. "And you have never known romantic love? Is that why you say it's childish?"

Hook smiled grimly, resting his forearms over the edge of the wood. "I knew love once, a long time ago. I fear I have forgotten what that feels like now. I fail to even recall her name."

Jenna wondered why he was telling her this for a moment, but chose to use the opportunity instead of questioning its reasons for presenting itself. "What about Wendy? Do you not love her? From what I have been told, you put up a pretty big fight to keep her all to yourself."

Hook frowned, standing upright as he pondered his answer. "I was simply doing my duty to protect my crew member. And if I do...feel, for her, it is not that of young lovers, but of a...familial, protective nature."

Jenna smiled fondly up at him, and then laughed at the obscurity of smiling fondly at Captain Hook, "That's still love!" She proclaimed.

"Maybe so, but it has been too long for me to hope of ever finding someone that I could share a romantic love with." He said sadly.

"Don't say that! You never know, you could find somebody." She replied enthusiastically.

"I have no doubt that I could find somebody, but whether my affections could ever be returned is entirely different."

"Well, why?" Jenna asked.

Hook raised an eyebrow and gave her a questioning look. "I would have thought it was obvious. My reputation precedes me, my dear, and it is not one of tender kisses in the glistening moonlight." He said sarcastically.

Jenna nodded in agreement, and mused, "Still. Once they get to know you, the real you I mean, and not just the reputation, surely they'd fall head over heels for you. You're certainly handsome enough." She added, and then inwardly cringed for letting the thought slip.

Hook smirked, preening under the compliment. "I'm glad you think so."

"Oh, please, don't act like you didn't already know I thought so." Jenna said.

"Well, awakening in our predicament was quite the indication, I suppose." He teased, his demeanour only becoming more arrogant.

Jenna began to protest indignantly, "Actually, that was around sixty percent your fault so I really can't be held accountable for our 'predicament.'"

"Of course my dear, you may believe whatever keeps your pretty little head at ease." Hook replied, stepping closer to her.

"The nerve." She challenged, grinning up at him

They stood close, staring at one another, Jenna trying to convince herself that no, his eyes really weren't that entrancing, until Hook broke the silence with, "Allow me to teach you."

"Sorry?" She asked, confused.

"To fight. Allow me to teach you to fight. So much passion... Simply imagine it all driven into the blade of a sword." He said.

"Of course, yes, I'd love that." Jenna answered immedietely, eagerly.

"Tremendous." Hook said, then glanced down, a strange expression that Jenna could not quite decipher, something between sadness and determination flashing across his face, before it was gone as quickly as it had come. "Where is that damned woman? Surely, departures do not take that long." He called over the side of the ship, as he stepped away from her, and the moment was gone almost instantly, as if it had never even happened.

* * *

 

"Did you enjoy your day on the island?" Hook asked Jenna, as they entered his quarters.

Jenna only laughed softly in response.

"Something amuses you, my dear?" He questioned, as he tossed his hat onto the desk and removed his great coat, hanging it up.

"It's just that, yesterday, you didn't even want to associate yourself with me, in fact you were ready and willing to just throw me overboard, and now here we are, making perfectly normal conversation." She explained.

"That's because I now know that you are not trying to kill me in my sleep." He replied knowingly, as he began to loosen the cravat tied around his neck.

"I think that'd be rather ambitious of me, if that were my intention, which it's not." Jenna said.

"I agree; you most certainly wouldn't come out alive." Hook said, continuing to undress, moving on to his shirt buttons now.

"I don't doubt it." Jenna agreed, tailing off slightly at the end of her sentence, as she once again became, in her own opinion, stupidly fixated on the Captain's increasingly naked body. He left his shirt hanging open as he unscrewed his hook, holding it in his left hand.

Jenna was startled out of her reverie, however, by a rapid knocking on the cabin door, accompanied by Wendy's happy call of, "Knock knock!" before she entered the room.

"I am pleased to notice you're more settled now, Jenna. James is treating you with adequate respect, I hope?" She asked, directing the question more to the Captain than to Jenna.

"Of course." Jenna confirmed with a nod.

"Sometimes I wonder what you truly think of me, Miss Darling." Hook replied, shaking his head.

"You know I only say things in jest, James." Wendy assured him sincerely, as she walked over to him. She looked up at him, her bright blue eyes roving over his head in a narrowed glare. "When was the last time you got your hair cut?"

"Oh dear god! Not this again!" He cried with a growl, slamming his hook down hard into the desk, leaving it stuck into the already marked wood, making Jenna jump at the sudden noise.

"Now, James, there's no need to throw a tantrum. Look at it, it's grown all wild." She said, holding a fistful of his black, unruly curls out from his head. "It needs _taming_. And you only combing it once in a blue moon doesn't help."

She emphasised her point by snagging her fingers in a few of the many, infuriating knots, Hook hissing at the sharp pain.

"Would you desist!" Hook shouted, though there was no real anger in his words; an irritation at most, Jenna realised incredulously. The man was revealing himself to be less and less like the villain he was portrayed the more time went on. "I shall get it cut whenever I see fit, Wendy. Leave it be." He groused, placing his hook inside a velvet-lined box, containing three other variations of his weapon-turned-limb.

"And when you see fit shall be never." Wendy replied, but decided to leave the topic for a later date. "Come on, you need to rest. We have a long journey back to Pan's Island tomorrow, and I am not having you falling asleep at the wheel." She warned.

"Thank you for your valuable insight, now if you would leave us in peace I would be forever grateful." Hook said, and Wendy took the hint, throwing a look at her dear Captain on the way out.

"Finally. She can't leave me alone for more than five minutes."

Jenna laughed. "You don't really mind. And she doesn't leave you alone because she knows that you can't be trusted."

"Can't be trusted with what? What would I do? I am not a child, Jenna." Hook replied, aghast.

"You might, I don't know... kill someone while she's gone. It wouldn't exactly shock anyone."

Hook frowned at that, contemplating it. "I suppose not. Though the death rate has dropped considerately since Wendy returned."

"She's reformed you." Jenna said with a soft smile.

"Quite." Hook replied, and left it at that.

Hook continued to undress, joining Jenna in the large bed after he had stripped down to his leather breeches, bare of his hook and harness.

"I see you are no longer as skittish as you were only yesterday." He commented, as he pulled his side of the eider up to his waist, sitting up in the large bed and leaning back against the headboard.

"Well, now I know you're not going to kill me in my sleep." Jenna said with a grin.

"Clever girl." Hook replied, with an unmistakable glint in his bright eyes. _Happiness? Or deviance._ Jenna thought, though she found herself not worried in the slightest.

"Quite right. If I wished to kill you, my dear, you would most certainly already be dead." He finished darkly.

"Right." She said in reply, the sinister tone of his voice cutting her off short. "Yes. I expect so." She continued, swallowing thickly, her throat having suddenly gone dry.

"Oh, no." Hook sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I have intimidated you. My apologies. I forget how frightening I must appear." He said ruefully, running his hand through his hair. "Goddamnit all!" He yelled, when the knots yet again got in the way, causing Jenna to flinch. His eyes widened, aware that he had scared her. "Please, forgive me, my temper is...powerful, and, usually, uncontrollable."

Jenna breathed deeply for a moment, gathering herself. "No, I...I understand that you have a... fiery temper. I will just have to get used to the occasional outburst of pent-up anger."

Hook sighed in frustration, his hand clenched tightly in a fist by his side. "I wish it weren't so. You should not have to suffer it. Nobody should. It is just so..." He gritted his teeth at this, "difficult to contain."He admitted, flexing his taut palm.

Jenna remained silent for a moment, glancing sideways at Hook. She moved her arm slightly across the bed, slowly reaching, until she gently touched his hand with her own. Opening her palm, she lay her hand on top of his, and softly closed it around his white-knuckled fist, clasping it gently, waiting tentatively until the tension slowly but surely drained from him. His hand loosened underneath hers, laying flat.

After a few long seconds, Hook turned his palm upwards, and, just as hesitantly, threaded his fingers through hers.

Their hands remained like that for a while, entwined, until Jenna said, "It's okay." And that was all that needed to be said. She squeezed his hand reassuringly, and then let go, laying down and settling in to sleep.

Hook did the same, blowing out the candle by the bedside, and turning over to face away from Jenna. He tried not to dwell on what had just taken place, and the gravity of what it meant for him, to appear...vulnerable in front of the girl, and to allow her such access into his emotions. And he barely even knew her. The stirring of long-dormant feelings within him unsettled the captain, but he refused to think on it any longer, hunching over on his side amongst the eider, bringing his knees up, and forcing himself to at least try to get some sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm. I don't know of Hook was kinda ooc there. Thoughts?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello to anybody who actually reads this fic! :) I know it's a pretty remote fandom, so. This is just to say hi, as I realised that because I transfer this work from my ff.net account, I haven't put in any notes, or personalisations or whatever, there's no communication, so hi! Also, I warn you now that I update glacially, so sorry in advance for that.

Waking up yet again in a tangle of limbs with the man she shared a bed with was no less of a shock the second time around. However, after the events that had transpired the night before, Jenna didn't want Hook to feel as though she were stifling him, so she lifted his arm from across her shoulder as carefully as she could, and slowly wriggled out from underneath him, shuffling over and slightly further away from the sleeping captain.

She watched as he groped unconsciously for something to hold, settling for gripping his pillow, and finally easing back into a contented slumber.

Jenna couldn't help but feel a little guilty for moving out of his reach, after seeing his almost childlike display of a need for a comfort of some sort, but she would rather have a clingy, unconscious Hook than an angry, conscious one.

Jenna lay on her back and stared up at the intricate wooden patterns carved into the ceiling of the four poster, and began to think about her situation properly for the first time since she had arrived in Neverland. She then wondered something that scared her quite deeply.

 _I don't know if I even **want** to leave Neverland._ She thought to herself, and it worried her that she could consider leaving her entire old life behind so easily, without feeling much guilt or sadness at all. That her meagre two days spent in Neverland, in the company of some of the most interesting people she had ever had the pleasure of meeting, had had a serious impact on what Jenna thought she wanted out of life. _I should want to go home..._ She told herself, though she lacked the conviction she knew she should have felt if she really meant it. It wasn't sincere, and even though that scared her, it also told her just what she needed to know; that fate had brought her exactly where she needed to be.

* * *

 

 

Jenna couldn't get back to sleep after her little revelation, and so she got up before the Captain, got dressed, and headed out onto the deck, only to find Wendy already out there, sitting on the edge of the ship, her legs dangling over the side.

"You're up early." Wendy said, when she noticed Jenna approaching.

"So are you." She replied with a smile.

"Yes, I usually am. Watching the sunrise from here is breathtaking, and I never tire of it." She said wistfully.

Jenna's smile only grew, her certainty that this is where she belonged cementing itself in her mind. "That sounds lovely. Maybe I'll join you tomorrow."

"Oh, do! I've never had anybody else to share it with, that would be splendid." Wendy said enthusiastically, patting the space next to her, gesturing for Jenna to sit with her on the side of the ship. Jenna pushed herself up, and with Wendy's steadying hands, managed to sit on the edge without toppling over into the sea. "There we go. Wouldn't want you falling in."

"I wanted to talk to you." Jenna began, deciding that now was as good a time as any to breach the subject of her permanent residence in Neverland. Wendy smiled assuringly, inviting confidence. "Well," She continued, "this morning I was thinking, and I know it seems too soon to be making any major decisions like this, but I really do adore Neverland, and living on the ship, and Hook, and yourself, and-" Jenna paused, taking a deep breath, "I think I would like to stay here...permanently."

Wendy sat in silence for a few seconds, and then she grinned excitedly, her blue eyes sparkling with joy. "Oh, Jenna that is wonderful! I've always wanted a female companion on the ship." Then her elation tempered slightly. "But I do feel it necessary to point out that perhaps making any serious decisions should be left until a little later. Though of course I shall support any choice you make in regards to staying or going."

"Yeah, I know it's a bit soon. But...what if I was brought here because it's where I'm supposed to be? You know, fate, or something?" She asked hopefully.

"It is a possibility." Wendy mused. "But fate or no, we shall have to talk to James. After all, it is his decision whether you are allowed to stay or not."

Wendy swung her legs round and hopped back onto the deck, and Jenna did the same, if not quite so gracefully. "Go and wake up James, he's been allowed to lie in for far too long now. He would sleep for days if it weren't for my 'pestering.'" Wendy said, "I shall awaken the crew. Off you pop!" She said cheerfully, before heading off to do just that.

Jenna began to walk back towards Hook's cabin, a giant smile plastered onto her features.

She entered his room and wandered over to the bed, noting that he was still clutched to the pillow as he was when she left him, laying on his side.

"Captain." She said quietly, not wanting to startle the man. When he did not respond, she called again, this time a little louder. Again, nothing. She reached out a hand towards him, delicately brushing his sleep-mussed curls out of the way before placing her hand on his shoulder, nudging him gently when he still failed to awaken. "Come on Hook, it's time to wake up now." Jenna said, trying not to laugh at how ridiculous she sounded, addressing Hook like she would a sleepy toddler.

After one more nudge, he finally began to wake up. He emitted a low groan from deep within his chest, and rolled over onto his other side. "Not now, Wendy... I'm sure the crew can handle themselves for a few more minutes, as dimwitted as they are. Besides, you interrupted a lovely dream I was having about that equally lovely Jenna girl..." He rumbled, the muscles in his back shifting as he propped himself up on one elbow, and turned to face her.

"And what dream would that be, Captain?" Jenna asked, one eyebrow raised, her arms folded across her chest.

He lay there, staring at Jenna, until he gathered his wits about him and said, "One that is far too inappropriate, bred in the mind of a salacious, evil pirate, for a lady such as yourself to be concerned with."

"Oh, I don't believe that you're evil." She replied, "Salacious, yes, but certainly not as bad as you might think, dirty dreams aside." She gave him an amused look. "Wendy said to get up, so I think you'd better do that before she comes in here and you have to explain to her why you're hugging a pillow like a child with a stuffed toy."

Hook dropped the pillow immediately, unaware that he was even holding it in the first place, and gave Jenna an odd look of his own. He cleared his throat in embarrassment, and got out of the bed, stifling a yawn with the back of his hand.

Jenna once again had to try not to laugh, as Hook drew himself up, obviously trying to use his height to intimidate her. "Captain, as terrifying as your reputation makes you out to be, I woke up this morning with you wrapped around me like my own personal octopus. You don't scare me anymore." Jenna said plainly, but with a warm smile.

"Ah." He said, frowning for a moment. "Then perhaps this is the best time to insist that you call me James. Though, not in front of the crew. Over-familiarity and colloquialism lacks discipline, and these men certainly need it."

"James." Jenna said, testing it out, and was happy to realise that it rolled smoothly off her tongue. "Suits you." She commented.

"I'm so glad you think so." He replied sarcastically, as he picked up his harness. "If you would?" He requested politely, and Jenna helped him put on the tricky, clumsy device. "Thank you." Hook said, as he buckled the leather across his chest. Jenna handed him his hook, and watched as he screwed it into place. "Today is a good day. I can feel it." He inhaled deeply through his nose, "If you are not opposed to it, I wish to begin your instruction in the art of battle."

"Yes, that'd be great, thank you. I can't wait." Jenna said.

"Good. We'll see if you keep that positive attitude after I have you on the end of my sword for the twenty-seventh time." Hook said with a smirk.

"You're not going to go easy on me? May I remind you that I have never even held a sword in my life, let alone tried to use one." She replied.

"Dear girl, that would be with a fighting chance." He said.

"I'm so relieved that you have faith in my abilities."

"You'll need more than faith to beat me. But I'm sure you're a fast learner." He said patronisingly, as he pulled on a billowy white shirt.

Jenna hummed dubiously.

"Nothing better than a little morning duel before breakfast!" Hook proclaimed. "Now, out with you! I shall meet you on deck in a moment."

Jenna did as she was told and made her way back out onto the deck.

"Did you manage to rouse him then?" Wendy asked, as she jogged over. "He is a terribly deep sleeper when he's not plagued by those awful nightmares." She said, shaking her head.

"He suffers from nightmares? That must be horrible. I haven't had a bad dream since I was little." Jenna replied.

"Hmm. Some nights he cannot sleep at all for fear of the recurring night terrors. He will never tell me what they're about, the poor thing. Though he hasn't had any recently, so maybe things are looking up, yes?"

"Hopefully!" She said positively.

They didn't have to wait much longer before Hook appeared from his cabin, a heavy looking, thick, leather weapons belt hung low on his hips, and another, lined with pistols, was slung over his shoulder.

"Ready?" He called. He had forgone his usual impressive coat, and instead was wearing a plain brown waistcoat, cut deep and buttoning low at the front with two little brass buttons. He drew a long sword from his belt, and threw it up into the air. Jenna watched it turn and glisten, before it fell back down and was caught by Hook.

"Show off." Wendy muttered under her breath, making Jenna giggle.

Hook approached, and tossed the sword in their general direction. Jenna jumped back with a startled cry, and Wendy caught it deftly out of the air. "James." She scolded softly. "That wasn't nice."

"She must learn! It may be frightening, but when a person is on the other end of an attacking sword, you must actually do something about it other than move out of its way." He said, before drawing two more swords, and this time _handing_ one of them to Jenna.

Well, she nearly dropped it. "It's, ah, _heavier_ than I expected." She laughed it off nervously. _Great start, Jenna, wonderful first impression. Well done. How is he supposed to teach you to fight if you can't even carry the bloody thing?_ She berated herself silently. She grasped the golden handle of the weapon more firmly, making sure that the hand guard was actually covering her knuckles.

"Good, good. I don't even have to teach you the first step; holding the sword!" Hook teased, twirling his around, the blade swinging in large circles by his side.

"Come on, give the girl a chance James." Wendy said.

Hook laughed good-naturedly. "All is well, my dear. I shall have her fighting like a buccaneer in no time!"

"I shall leave you two to it then." Wendy said conspiratorially, with a knowing smile and a wink in their direction, giving her sword back to the Captain.

"Right." Hook cleared his throat. "Now then. Let us begin turning you into a real pirate."

"Good luck with that." Jenna said, as she hefted her sword around in the air, trying to get a feel of the weapon.

"No no no, don't just swing it about aimlessly. Here, hold it like this, legs apart, _there_ you go..." Hook stood closer to Jenna, demonstrating the correct stance, and then moved to physically position her when he was still unsatisfied.

He stood behind her, leaning over and reaching around her to guide her arm out in front of her body, his closeness becoming all too apparent to Jenna. She could feel the body heat radiating from his strong form, the warmth seeping through her clothes and heating her skin. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, deep and even behind her, and his scent surrounded her, a unique blend of the spiced rum that he drank and cigars that he smoked, the salty sea breeze, and his own natural musk that was purely _him_. It was deliciously overwhelming, and when he leaned closer to whisper directions, his cultured, slightly rough baritone rumbling in her ear, Jenna did valiantly to hold back the whimper that threatened to escape.

Finally Hook stepped away, and Jenna pulled herself together, fighting the blush blooming pink on her cheeks.

"That's better. You'll get nowhere with the wrong posture. Now, the first thing to learn is defence, how to block attacks. When I reach out with my sword like this, I want you to raise yours up like so..."

And so the lesson when on, running far into the originally allotted time of 'before breakfast,' and it was not until around nearly noon that they ceased, realising how quickly the time had slipped by, when they were both too hot, sweaty, and tired out to continue.

"That was a brilliant first effort, good form girl. It bodes well for the future." Hook commended, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Thank you." Jenna panted in reply. "I really enjoyed it." She fanned herself in vain, and couldn't help but think how unfair it was that she was red-faced, sweating, and almost collapsing from exertion, whilst Hook was stood before her, only covered in a light sheen of sweat, the freshly-exercised countenance only enhancing his rugged good looks and roguish charm. _Damn him._ She thought, as she followed him back towards his cabin.

"Finally finished? Smee and I had breakfast without you, I do hope you don't mind. Though you are almost in time for lunch." Wendy said, from her position perched on Hook's desk, and then scrunched up her nose in disgust when said man got too close to her. "On second thoughts, you two are not doing anything until you have bathed. I shall have a bath sent up, and no lunch until you are clean." She instructed, hopping off the desk and leaving them to wait for the bath.

"That's a subtle way of telling us that we stink." Jenna said with a laugh.

"I believe it was, yes." Hook agreed, chuckling too.

They discussed duelling technique during the minutes it took for the bath to be brought up, and eventually there was a knock on the cabin door, followed by two men walked in, carrying a large metal tub filled with steaming water.

"There y'go, Cap'n. Hope it's to your likin'." One of them said, before placing the tub down and leaving them alone again.

Jenna felt a little stupid that she was again shocked by the standards of living on the ship; after all, this was a ship, probably from around the 1700's, if she were to guess correctly. But one tub? Hook noticed the somewhat taken aback expression on Jenna's face, and chuckled to himself.

"Do not fret, my dear, you are not expected to bathe with me. We shall simply have to take turns, and as you are the fairer one between us, I shall leave you in peace."

"Oh." She said in reply. "You don't mind? Going second, I mean." She then asked, once she had regained focus.

"Not at all, I am used it. And besides, one day we may be sharing a bath together, and I don't think I would mind all that much then." And with that he left the cabin, leaving Jenna to blush and scowl at his...his...salaciousness!

She fetched her soap and shampoo from the little box that Wendy had given her to keep all of her personal amenities in, and took a towel from their designated spot on a shelf by the bed. She lay them on the floor beside the tub, and then collected some fresh clothes, laying them too near the bath.

Jenna stripped and carefully stepped into the tub, sighing in bliss as she settled into the soothing water, feeling all of her body's tension seep out of her. She relaxed in the water for a few minutes, before ducking her head underneath and soaking her hair. Jenna washed her hair and cleansed her body, revelling in the warmth and contentment that enveloped her.

However, she was aware that she had to leave some of that warmth for Hook, so once she was finished with her ablutions, Jenna quickly got out of the bath, drying herself off and wrapping the towel around her head. She then redressed into her clean clothes, humming to herself as she did so, feeling wonderfully relaxed and comfortable. More comfortable than she really ought to be, considering this was a foreign place that she had only been in for a few days, and yet it no longer worried her.

Towelling off her wet hair, still humming in contentment, she finished her routine by combing through the damp strands, working through any knots quickly and efficiently.

Heading back out onto the deck, she dipped her hand into the bath water along the way, noting pleasantly that it was still warm.

"All ready for you Captain." She said, after finding him below deck, occupied in what looked like a very serious game of cards with three other men.

"Thank you. If you will excuse me." He addressed the men politely, before laying his cards down on the table. "I do hope you haven't let the water grow tepid." He said to Jenna, as they walked back above deck.

"It was warm when I left it. It should still be fine." She replied. "Do you mind if I eat without you? I am absolutely starving."

"No, go ahead my dear. I shan't be too long anyway."

* * *

 

 

Jenna was almost finished with her meal in Wendy's chamber when Hook finally returned from his bath. Though, Jenna did tuck into her lunch with the intensity as if she hadn't eaten in a week, so perhaps he didn't take as long as she gave him credit for.

He sat down opposite her, wearing clean clothes that were in the process of being soaked through by his sopping wet hair.

"James! You didn't dry your hair!" Jenna exclaimed, as water dripped onto the table, and all down his back.

"Yes I did. But then I lost patience and decided to let it dry naturally." He explained calmly.

"At least put it up." She huffed, pulling the bobble from her now dry hair, and handing it to Hook across from her.

"How am I supposed to tie it up? There's no end." He questioned, puzzled by the bobble that Jenna realised he would have never seen before.

"Oh, yes, silly me." She said, standing and walking around the table to his side. She took the bobble off him, and put it on her wrist. "May I?" She asked permission tentatively.

Hook nodded, not entirely sure what he was agreeing to.

Jenna gathered his hair at the nape of his neck, brushing it out of his eyes and making quick work of a simple plait, one that reached more than halfway down his back. _But at least it's more contained while it dries._ She thought.

"There you go, much better." Jenna said once she was done.

"I would have preferred a queue, but I suppose they are rather complicated." Hook said.

"How's that for gratitude!" She replied with a smile.

"Thank you for so graciously allowing me to borrow your infinite hair tie, and for plaiting it so expertly." He said dramatically, taking her hand gently in his and kissing her knuckles. "How ever can I repay you?"

"Well, I do have a yearning to know how to use a pistol, so maybe putting that on the to do list would be a good idea." She suggested.

"Eager to learn, are we? Excellent. Your wish is my command."

They laughed as they ate, the conversation free-flowing, and Jenna's whole situation feeling just so...right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment, I appreciate everybody's input.


	6. Chapter 6

"Steady...careful...you don't want to take my crew out do you?" Hook stood behind Jenna, holding her arm in his hand, his hook resting at the small of her back. Neither had noticed how familiar they had become with each other, their interactions becoming increasingly comfortable, relaxed even, the longer Jenna stayed on the ship. Two weeks and a half had passed since Jenna's first morning of training on the ship, the lessons becoming a regular occurrence, either in the mornings or evenings, when the blaze from the sun was not too hot to fight in.

"I know, don't worry. I can handle this." Jenna replied, as she gripped the pistol in her hand more firmly, aiming for the bottle placed on the railing in front of the door to Hook's rooms.

"Good. I will not have you blowing holes in my ship. And if you do, there will be consequences." He warned, with a familiar teasing tone to his voice.

Jenna pulled the trigger on her pistol, shooting the glass bottle and shattering it off the railing. She turned to face Hook with a triumphant grin. "Consequences? Like what, James, you'll throw me to the mermaids? Make me walk the plank?"

"You know, I just might." He agreed, before sweeping Jenna up unceremoniously into his arms, to her yelp of surprise, and carrying her to the side of the ship, where he proceeded to hold her over the edge.

"James put me down!" Jenna demanded, slightly hysterically, though still smiling madly.

"Put you down?" Hook repeated coyly, threatening to drop her into the water by quickly loosening his grip and tightening it before there was time enough for her to fall.

"James stop it this isn't funny! Put me down!" Jenna wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging on desperately for dear life. "James!" She cried one more time, before he relented and set her back down on the deck.

"That was not funny James!" Jenna said earnestly, breathing heavily from the giddiness and the danger of it all. "You could have dropped me!"

James laughed, which earned him a scowl and the pistol being roughly shoved into his chest. He caught it and Jenna's hand, holding it in his. "What's wrong, my sweet? I was only playing. And I would not have dropped you, believe that much of me." He said, though he still had that infuriatingly cocky edge to his voice that drove Jenna mad.

"I didn't know that you weren't going to drop me when you were dangling me over the edge! And I'm not your 'sweet.' And this isn't a joke!" She said angrily up at the Captain, his stupid, stupid smirk making her blood boil.

"Fine, my dear, I promise to never do it again. And I can assure you I am taking the situation most seriously." James professed.

"Like hell you are." Jenna huffed sarcastically. "Come on then, you think I'm done yet? Let's go a few rounds." She said, unsheathing the sword at her belt and pointing it at Hook challengingly.

James raised his eyebrows at Jenna's newfound confidence, drawing his sword in turn. "I warn you, lass, I will not go easy on you this time." He said with a smirk, beginning to circle Jenna predatorily, fighting stance adopted.

"I should hope not! It'll only be more satisfying when I win." She replied, grinning, and lunged for Hook, the Captain dodging effortlessly.

"You're better than that, girl. What did I teach you?" He asked, stepping from foot to foot in eager anticipation. Hook moved closer to Jenna and raised his sword to her, slashing it across at waist height, Jenna blocking it easily. "That's more like it!" He laughed in exhilaration when Jenna went for him again, and they began parrying back and forth, the blows from each of them coming with increased speed and strength, until they were going all out against other.

Hook hopped backwards up the steps to the higher decks, Jenna following swiftly after him. Jenna ducked as Hook jabbed his sword at her head, and he jumped in turn as she swung hers at his feet. Jenna chased Hook up onto the decks, her heart pounding wildly in her chest at the thrill. She narrowly missed his sword as it chinked against her own, just managing to block his attack to her shoulder. "Ooh, you got close that time!" She teased between her deep breaths.

"Are you sure you want to rile me now, Jenna? When I am so close?" He replied, equally playfully. Hook leaned back over the railing as Jenna's sword swung inches above his head.

Jenna followed Hook as he moved backwards along the deck, running to keep up with his longer strides as his feet practically danced across the wooden flooring.

"Get back here and fight me, James!" Jenna called to him.

"Gladly!" He replied, and lunged forward. Their swords clashed sharply, and Jenna walked Hook backwards, forcing him down the steps at the other side of the deck. Hook pushed Jenna's sword aside with his own, striding up two steps at once and meeting her where she stood, her back against the railing. He grinned triumphantly, thinking that he had her.

Jenna ducked under his arm and ran past him, much to Hook's surprise. "Nearly!" Jenna said.

Hook ran after her with a growl, but he couldn't deny that the girl was giving him a challenge he had long missed.

"I will get you, as elusive as you are." He promised. Their swords met again in a clash of steel, the sounds of the metal and the vocalisations of their effort ringing out between them.

They parried, Hook managing to gain ground, forcing Jenna back until she hit the pillar of the mizzenmast. He brought up his right hand and slammed his hook into the wood beside her head. The action caused Jenna to lose focus for just a second, but it was long enough for the Captain to swipe Jenna's sword out of her hand with his own, and they both turned to watch it clatter to the ground.

"Do you admit defeat yet, Jenna?" Hook's voice brought Jenna back to the moment at hand, and she came face to face with the man pinning her to the mizzenmast, his piercing eyes boring into her.

"I-" She began, but found herself utterly cut short at their proximity. The Captain's face was mere inches from her own, and Jenna could see every detail of it. The sharp, intense blue of his eyes, the sweat beading at his forehead, the strands of black hair that danced around them in the breeze. The silence was palpable, and Jenna thought, if she dared to, that she could just close the scarce gap between them, that it would only take the barest of movements to touch her lips to his-

Once again Jenna was snapped out of her reverie by Hook, and oh gods he was moving his hand now, gently, the aggression from their duel gone entirely.

Hook's eyes flitted across Jenna's face, gauging her reaction when he placed his hand upon it, softly, carefully, brushing his thumb across her cheekbone. "You know, Jenna, I find you to be a most singular woman." And when Jenna offered no protest, he tilted her head up with the slightest of pressure, their lips finally meeting in a long-awaited kiss.

Their initial kiss was brief, though not without meaning, but when Hook made to pull away Jenna chased his mouth with her own. It then became more passionate, Jenna revelling in the taste and the strength and the sheer heat of him, her fingers tangling in the hair at the nape of Hook's neck, her other hand coming to rest atop his shoulder. They fought for dominance, neither quite relenting it to the other, just enjoying the presence of each other, their taste and scent and feel.

They had to break apart eventually, if only to breathe, and Jenna let out a few shaky laughs as they stood against each other, catching their breath. She sighed and smiled in contentment as James began playing with her hair, the metal of his hook sliding through her mousy tresses. "I suppose you're pretty wonderful too." Jenna said, in reply to Hook's earlier statement.

James inhaled deeply before speaking. "I think...we should go inside now, sweet. Though I would much prefer staying out here to ravish you," Jenna blushed a little at this, "I fear Wendy will be wondering what we're up to." He said, tracing her jawline with his fingertips.

"Alright, come on then." Jenna agreed, and placed one last enticing kiss to the Captain's lips, leading the way back to his room.  
________________________________

Lunch was a surprisingly awkward affair, considering how familiar Jenna had become to everybody on the ship. But it seemed, now that they had expressed a romantic interest in each other, the previously casual interactions between Jenna and Hook became entirely inappropriate.

Of course, 18th century values. Jenna thought to herself wryly, when she had lain her hand on Hook's shoulder as she passed him, and he almost jumped from his chair with a start. He stood up and hurried to pull Jenna's chair out for her before she reached it.

"Thanks." She said with a laugh, sitting down and beginning her meal.

Jenna had always been a tactile person, enjoying the comfort of being able to touch and hug and show affection towards other people. This, however, conflicted with Hook's ideas of appropriate conduct between a courting- his words- couple.

Jenna had been talking to Wendy about the morning's events, and James had proudly announced his and Jenna's courtship. Jenna was a little taken aback by the formality and seriousness of it, but took it all in her stride, happy to let things play out between herself and the Captain.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you both." Wendy enthused. "You're just what James needs, I'm telling you. Of course, you don't want to rush things, but I think it's all going to go wonderfully for the both of you." Jenna was thankful to have Wendy's blessing on the matter, as it solidified her confidence that it was a good idea. "I don't know how on Earth he managed to snag you, but that doesn't really matter anyway."

"How he managed to snag me?" Jenna laughed, "Well, pinning me to the mizzenmast with his hook to my throat and kissing me senseless seemed to work!" Her laughs died down, however, when she saw the somewhat aghast looks on both Hook and Wendy's faces.

Wendy was silent for a good few moments, her mouth half-open in shock. "James, I thought you better than that. Jumping the girl and forcing yourself upon her was terribly, terribly wrong of you."

Hook glared at Jenna out of the corner of his eye, "It wasn't like that, we were duelling, Wendy."

"I don't much care what you were doing, James Hook, but I suppose the damage is done now. You are an improper and impossible man! And after all the trouble you put me through for so much as looking in Darius' direction, and now you deem it perfectly fine to act in such a way with Jenna before you even began courting!"

Wendy was clearly getting upset, and so save both Hook's hide and Wendy's tears, Jenna interrupted with, "Don't worry Wendy. I would not have let James do anything that I did not want. And besides, where I come from, kissing and other such open displays of affection are normal, and accepted as perfectly proper."

Jenna was met with simultaneous, ernest replies of, "Really?" by her companions.

"Er, yes, really." Jenna laughed nervously.

"Well then, I suggest we move and resettle wherever that is!" James said enthusiastically, which earned him a kick under the table from Wendy and a reprimand of, "Honestly James, behave yourself!"

________________________________

That night, when James and Jenna prepared for bed, it was different than all the other times before. There was a slowness about how they changed their clothes, a mutual appreciation of the other's trust in allowing them to do so in their company. Jenna wasn't as nervous or self-conscious as before, not worried about modesty or propriety now that they were courting- a term she had yet to get used to. Jenna was wonderfully relaxed when Hook joined her in what had become their bed in recent weeks.

They lay down together, face to face, and Jenna could not suppress the ridiculous smile that appeared when she gazed at Hook.

"What is it, my dear? Do I amuse you?" Hook asked, a similar smile forming on his lips, though it took on a rather wolfish quality on him.

"No." Jenna sighed happily. Hook reached across with his hand, and began to run his fingers across her cheek, tracing down her neck to her shoulder, but no lower. "It's silly." She dismissed it, glancing away from his searching eyes.

"Now, I doubt that. Tell me what is on your mind." Hook said, coaxing.

"I just...I never thought I'd get a chance to..." Jenna reach out too, mimicking the Captain's actions and feeling the shape of his face and neck, the strong shoulder, the stubble and beard that covered his cheek, the warmth of his skin. "I've slept in your bed for almost three weeks, so close to you, admiring you but never getting to just...touch. And now I can, and it's...so lovely. You're so lovely."

Hook laughed a little. "Oh dear, is the façade slipping? She thinks I'm lovely!"

Jenna laughed too, twirling a curl of his hair between her fingers. "I do. I think you are lovely." Hook appeared taken aback that she was serious, and even looked uncomprehending for a second before smiling again.

"Even so, I cannot hold a candle to your loveliness." He said, before leaning close to press a sweet, short kiss to her lips. He blew out the candle on the bedside table, and for the first time, they fell asleep in the other's arms, sparing their unconscious bodies the trouble of entwining during the night.  
________________________________

Jenna awoke groggily, slowly opening her eyes and realising that it was still dark in the cabin. It's the middle of the night...what? She thought to herself sleepily, rubbing her eyes and dredging herself out of the state of slumber that she was in.

Then she heard it. The desperate, fearful sound. Somewhere between a sob and a deep, terrified whine. And it was coming from the man laying next to her.

Jenna quickly sat up in the bed, rubbing her eyes again to fully awaken herself, and strained to make out the form of Hook in the pitch darkness. As her eyes adjusted to the inky blackness of her surroundings, she gasped silently at what she saw. Hook, shaking and crying, fist clenched tightly in the sheets, his chest rising and falling far too quickly as he hyperventilated. He was sweating profusely, the sheets beneath him damp, and he was shivering violently from the severe cold sweat he was experiencing.

Night terror. Jenna thought, dread weighing heavily in her stomach.

It scared Jenna to think that this was the same man who was so calm and content when they fell asleep, reduced to base fear by his own mind. It also made her question how tormented Hook must be, or what could have happened that had affected him so. Was he so disturbed by the loss of his hand? Was the experience as terrible, or worse, than he explained?

She had no idea what to do, but she knew that she couldn't just sit there while he suffered on his own, waiting for him to wake up. So she kneeled over his jerking form, placing her warm hands around his freezing cold upper arms, and fervently began to say his name in an attempt to wake him from his nightmare, trying to keep the panic from seeping into her voice.

"James...James...Come on, you've got to wake up...please." Jenna said, reaching up to push the sweat drenched hair from his equally cold forehead, becoming more insistent when his frightened noises grew ever louder. "James." She said, firmer, a little louder.

Suddenly, Hook's eyes flew open to stare unblinkingly up at Jenna, their colour a glinting, glowing, blood shade of red. Jenna could do no more than take a sharp gasp of breath before it was entirely knocked out of her, as Hook had her flipped and pinned onto her back on the bed, his knees forcing her painfully into the mattress, and his left hand in a vice like grip around her neck, his fingers no doubt imprinting bruises onto her delicate skin. She scrabbled at his arm and chest, desperately trying to push him away, to make him release his lethal grip around her windpipe, tears beginning to leak down the sides of her face. Jenna tried to kick out, but her legs were trapped under his weight, and only after what seemed like forever, when Jenna was sure that she was on the verge of passing out, did Hook finally relent, the dangerous red of his irises filtering through with shades of blue. He slowly released his hand from around her neck, dragging it slowly across her collarbone, his body trembling, as the realisation of what he was doing began to dawn on his now fully conscious mind.

He crawled off of her, leaning over and into himself. "Jenna..." He began, his voice thick with fear and guilt. He reached out his hand towards her, only for Jenna to flinch away from his touch, and scramble from the bed, nearly falling from it in her panicked haste. He watched her in anguish as she stumbled from the room, her quiet sobs the only sound but for the creaking of the great ship on the gently rocking waves.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes hello I'm back hi. Conflicts somewhat resolved. Oh, and more Peter. :)

Jenna ran. It's all she could do. She ran out of the cabin and off the ship, slipping from the rope ladder and landing in the water where it was thankfully only shallow. Jenna didn't give it any thought however; she just pushed herself to her feet and carried on running, across the sand and into the forrest, tears streaming across her face and her mind confused and scared and conflicted.

She ran until she couldn't run anymore. With her lungs burning for air and her legs staggering from exhaustion, Jenna collapsed against a tree and slid to the leaf-littered floor. She held her head in her hands and just sobbed, until she had cried herself calm. Jenna couldn't say how long she had sat there, weeping for all of the forrest to hear. When she had finally stopped, and the shock had abated, Jenna wiped her face and stood, leaning heavily against the tree. "Get your shit together, Jenna." She told herself out loud, breathing deeply and controlling her mangled emotions. She did not feel ready to return to the ship, and she certainly had to assess the situation, and her feelings, before doing so.

So, Jenna got up. She stood, took a deep breath, wiped the tears from her face and gathered herself. _Now is as good a time as any to explore,_ she thought, as she hadn't had any chance to see much of Pan's Island, and she certainly wasn't going back to the ship any time soon. _Might as well while away the hours out here._ And so she began to make her way further into the forrest, her path lit only by the moonlight that shone in-between the branches of the high canopies above her.

Jenna did not know how long she had been walking for, in fact she didn't even know what time it had been when she fled from the ship, but it was beginning to get progressively lighter the longer she walked, and she assumed it was the early hours of the morning. _That's when the sun usually rises,_ she presumed.

Jenna was in fact contemplating returning to the Jolly Roger, when she got the nasty surprise of falling down a hole in the ground. She let out a yelp of surprise as she began sliding down a dark shute, only to come to an abrupt, tumbling halt in the middle of an underground room. A room filled with Lost Boys.

"Peter! Peter!" One of them called excitedly, while the others immediately crowded around her, picking at her clothes and arguing loudly over whom she might be. Jenna pushed the boys off her and stood up, only to have them grab her and lead her over to a long table, where they pulled out a too-small chair for her to sit on.

"Who are you?" A little boy asked, once she was seated and they were too, all around her.

"Are you a lady? Like Wendy!" Another proclaimed.

"Can she tell us stories?" A third exclaimed.

"I know exactly who she is." A voice said, and the Lost Boys silenced. _Peter Pan._ Jenna thought, and couldn't help but be in awe at the sight of the boy, hovering over the table before her. He swooped down to sit cross-legged directly in front of her, and gestured for the boys to give her some space, which they did. "She is a pirate." That brought a collective gasp from the boys.

"My name is Jenna." She introduced herself, holding out her hand. Peter seemed taken aback by her civility, but he took her hand and shook it, if with no small amount of distrust.

"What are you doing here, Jenna?" He asked.

"I ran away from the ship, and I got lost in the forrest. Next thing I know, I'm falling down a hole and right into your hideout." She explained frankly.

"You ran away?" Peter repeated, as he floated up from his spot on the table, beginning to glide slowly about the room. "How do I know you're not lying? You could be spying for Hook," he spat the name like a curse, "trying to find my secret hideout to tell him where we are."

"I told you, I ran away. And honestly, I would quite like to return now." Jenna admitted. Being interrogated by a twelve year old boy would not normally be so unpleasant, but knowing that Peter Pan was capable of cutting off a man's hand and sending him to his death; that was scary.

"Why did you run away?" Peter asked. "Why does it matter?" Jenna countered. "You're already grown up. I ran away because I didn't want to grow up, but you're already grown up, so why else would you run away?" He replied.

Jenna saw the genuine curiosity on his childish features, and thought, _Why not tell him? He'll probably forget in a day anyway._ "Because Hook hurt me. He didn't mean to, but it was still scary." Jenna said.

She didn't know what reaction she was expecting, but all of the Lost Boys and Peter shouting and cursing Hook's name, threatening to kill the Captain for laying a finger on her, was certainly not it. "Stop! Stop!" She cried, trying to be heard above the din. "I don't want him _dead!_ "

Peter stopped shouting and crowing, and so did the boys at his command. "Why not? He hurt you! He deserves to die! Any man that hurts a lady does!" He cried, to the applause and cheers of the boys.

"I know you think that is a...noble sentiment, Peter, but he didn't mean to hurt me at all. I don't think he would ever hurt me on purpose." Jenna said, trying to calm the irate boy.

Peter looked genuinely puzzled then, and flew back down to her level, standing by her chair so he could talk to her face to face. "Why would you think that? He's a pirate, and he's evil. He'd hurt anybody."

Jenna was so shocked by that statement that she actually laughed, making Peter scowl. "I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you, Peter." She apologised, and Peter smiled at her then. "James- Hook, I mean, he's not evil! A pirate, yes, but certainly not evil. Hook can actually be very charming, and kind, when he wants to be."

Peter screwed up his face in disgust, and flew up to the ceiling."Yuck! Captain Hook is a villain and a blackguard!"

"Perhaps the way you see him! But to me he is a kind and caring man, and a man who would never, ever hurt me deliberately!" Jenna remembered the look of abject horror and regret on Hook's face once he came to his senses, and it only fuelled the fire of her words. "Now if you would please show me the way out of this godforsaken forrest I would be truly grateful!" Jenna didn't realise she was shouting.

Peter broke the deafening silence by calling for Tinkerbell. The fairy was not impressed at having been awoken, but her curiosity was peaked by Jenna's presence, so she didn't complain too much. "Tink, I need you to lead Jenna back to the Jolly Roger. Not yet, but soon, when I say she can leave." The tiny fairy nodded, which was accompanied by a light tinkling sound.

"What do you do on the ship?" Peter asked.

 _Oh, joy, yet more interrogation_. Jenna thought. "I...don't know." Jenna realised that she didn't really have a proper role in the crew, she just followed Wendy's orders during the day and got the usual combat lessons from James. "I just sort of...live there. I do as I'm told and help where I can." "And Hook treats you well?"

"He treats everybody well. He doesn't kill even half the men he used to. That's your Wendy's doing." Jenna said with a smile.

"Right. And where do you sleep? With the crew? That must be horrible." Peter crinkled his nose at the thought of it, and apparently the boys agreed, if their chorus of, "Ewww." was anything to go by.

"No, I er...I share his cabin." She answered. "And his bed." She added. _Might as well get it out there now_ , she thought, bracing herself for the worst.

"Why would he let you do that...? You're just a lady pirate." Peter puzzled. Jenna gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed he didn't know that he was being rude.

"I might _just_ be a lady pirate," Jenna began indignantly, "but I am also the lady pirate that Captain Hook happens to be courting."

She didn't know why she thought they would understand what that meant, and she was bombarded with questions of, "What's courting?" and, "What does that mean?"

The Lost Boys gathered around her as though she were about to impart them with some life-changing wisdom, and even Peter seemed interested from where he hovered above them all.

"Er, well." She began, and was encouraged by the boys' rapt attention. "Courting is what happens when... Well. When...when two people like each other very much, in a romantic sense, they can court. Which means that they spend more time together and can do things like holding hands and hugging and kissing, and after a while of courting, they might decide to either stop courting, if they don't like each other anymore, or they might get married, if they end up...loving each other." Jenna finished, finding herself a little breathless.

"Do you love Hook?" Peter asked quietly, almost darkly, from the back of the room.

"I...I don't know. Maybe. I mean...I could love him, if we court for a while longer." Jenna replied, and the realisation startled her. "Now, if you don't mind, I really do wish to return to the ship."

"Sure. Tink." Peter called, and the fairy flitted over to them. "But you have to promise not to tell Hook where our secret hideout is."

"I promise." Jenna said, nodding her head in a goodbye to the lost boys, as she followed Tinkerbell out of the room.

* * *

 

Jenna took a deep breath of the fresh, clean air as she finally emerged from the forrest, surely hours after beginning her journey out of it. She thanked Tinkerbell, who had been a surprisingly pleasant guide, and watched the tiny golden light fly away into the trees.

Jenna smiled, as she could see the great ship from where she stood, and it would only be a short walk across the sand before she could board it once again.

Jenna eagerly climbed the rope ladder that hung over the side of the ship, but was not pulled aboard as she normally would be. No, for the men that were above deck regarded Jenna with a cold indifference, and from a distance. She climbed over the side and onto the deck, unconsciously shrinking away from the glares of the crew.

"What?" She asked them. "What!" She shouted, when they gave no reply. Jenna scowled and hunched her shoulders, deciding to ignore their odd, and hurtful behaviour, instead carrying on to where she needed to go.

She walked up the steps to Hook's cabin, and was nearly stopped by Tom, the cabin boy, until he was dragged back by a menacing looking man whom nobody was wont to argue with.

Jenna took a steadying breath and knocked on the cabin door. When she heard no reply she slowly pushed it open. Jenna moved inside the room and closed the heavy door behind her, but found that she could barely see, for the air was thick with cigar smoke. On her first intake of breath she began to cough, almost choking on the stifling fumes. She batted the smoke away with her hand, and slowly walked further into the room.

She stopped, silent, and listened. Steady breathing. Hook was in there, but asleep. Jenna cleared her path of smoke again, and made her way over to the portholes, opening the windows with a muffled cough. She wiped her eyes, as they had begun to water in defence of the assault, and tried to waft out some of the smoke. After deciding that it would drift out eventually, she left the portholes and walked over to Hook's desk; where she could now see that he lay at.

He was a mess. He was slumped over onto the wooden surface, his head face-down, a bottle of whiskey in his slack left hand and no hook attached to his right. The objects previously covering the surface of his desk were scattered across the floor around him, as though they had been swept off it in anger. In fact, now that the air had cleared slightly, and she really looked, Jenna realised that the entire cabin was a mess. James must have wrecked it in a fit of rage, Jenna thought, and took in the extent of the damage. Paintings that hung on the walls were now torn and abandoned on the floor, the glass in the frames shattered and trodden into the rugs. Chairs were overturned, shelves were empty with their contents littering the ground, and the bedposts had deep nicks in them, as though he had taken his hook to them again and again.

"Jenna...?" Hook's deep, sleep roughened voice said. She turned to face him, seeing that he had pushed himself up into a sitting position. He looked exhausted. "Jenna?" He repeated.

"Yes, it's me." She replied, going over to him when he reached out to her. He tried to stand, but was either too inebriated or too tired to do so, as he fell back into his chair.

"I thought you were gone." He said, and the words were filled with such raw emotion, such fear and relief and pain and disbelief all at once, that Jenna had to try intensely hard not to cry. He seemed so broken, and so vulnerable, and Jenna knew that she needed to be close to him, to assure him that yes, she was here now, she was back, and there's no need for him to look so damn forlorn and tragic.

Hook pulled her to him as soon as she was within reach, grasping for her like a starving man would for food. Jenna held his head in her hands, running her fingers through his hair and speaking soothing words to him until he let her go.

"Come on James, we're going to bed now." She said, helping him stand and guiding him to the bed. He collapsed on top of it, and she lay next to him. Jenna pulled what remained of the ripped covers over them, and stayed with him at his desperate request, watching him until he fell back asleep, eventually doing so herself.

* * *

 

When Jenna awoke, the sun had set, and so it took her a moment to notice that she was alone in the large bed. Hook had pulled a chair up to the bed, and sat, awake, watching her from it, an unreadable expression on his face. A cigar hung loosely from his lips, and he took a heavy drag before removing it, blowing the smoke out into the air.

Jenna sat up in the bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Why are you sat over there?" She asked with a smile, "Come back." But Hook only turned his face away from her, leaning back in the chair.

"Why did you return to me?" He asked, his eyes beseeching.

"I couldn't stay out in the forrest forever. And besides, I didn't want to. I wanted to come back to you." She replied.

"Perhaps it would have been best if you did stay away." Hook said bitterly, taking another deep drag from his cigar.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jenna asked sharply, moving to sit on the edge of the bed closest to Hook.

"You know exactly what it means. I hurt you, Jenna. I'm dangerous. You need to be as far away from me as possible."

"Now that's just rubbish-!"

"You deserve better!" He interrupted with a shout. "Look what I've done to you." He said, and took out a handheld mirror from a drawer in his desk. He held it up in front of Jenna, and she swallowed in shock as she saw the dark, purple bruises that had formed on her neck.

"You didn't mean to." She said quietly, putting the mirror down.

"Exactly. I can't help myself, I can't control it. I just...destroy everything that is good." He said, almost savagely.

"James." Jenna said sternly. His eyes snapped up to hers immediately. "You have to allow me to make my own decisions. If I want to forgive you, then that is what I'll do, and you are not going to stop me." Hook frowned in confusion, as Jenna forgiving him was last thing he had expected. "Come back to bed, James. I ran around a forrest, and you wreaked havoc on your poor cabin and then drank yourself into a stupor last night; we both need to sleep."

After a moment Hook relented, climbing back into the bed. He sat up against the headboard and continued to smoke his cigar, staring straight ahead of himself in something of a daze. He seemed surprised when Jenna cuddled up close to him, wrapping her arms around his middle and laying her head against his chest.

"You are too good for me." He said, bringing his right arm around her back and squeezing her tight. Jenna noticed that he had screamed his voice hoarse.

"Hush now." Jenna scolded, smiling up at him.

"I will never deserve you." He continued solemnly. "Ow!" Hook exclaimed, as Jenna pinched him under his ribs.

"I said hush." She repeated, turning her head and kissing his chest. Hook did hush after that, favouring placing kisses atop her head over speaking any more.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for this chapter. I had intended for a lot more actual stuff to happen, but it became something of a filler. However, I have some fun stuff planned for the next one, and I also want to up the rating. ;) Thoughts? Anyway, enjoy. :)

Jenna awoke the next morning to the pained groan of a thoroughly hungover Captain. He lay on his back in the bed, his hand covering his face. Then he sat up, got out of bed, and strode across the room to the cabin door.

"Where are you going?" Jenna asked with a laugh, as he left without a word. She hurried over to the portholes to peer out and see what he was doing. She saw James walk briskly and purposefully to the nearest side of the ship, where he promptly leaned over it and threw up. Jenna watched in amusement as he braced himself on the side, waiting until the heaving had stopped, and outright laughed when he had to bat away a concerned and ever-helpful Mr Smee. He snarled and snapped at any men reckless enough to laugh at him on his way back to the cabin, and Jenna hopped back into the bed before he returned.

"Feeling better?" She asked, as he washed his face in the bowl of water he usually reserved for shaving in the mornings. He cupped some water in his hand and ran it over the back of his neck, then down his throat, sighing heavily and leaning his forehead against his palm. "Serves you right." Jenna said, when she received no reply. "Who in their right mind drinks half a bottle of whiskey at once?"

"I wasn't _in_ my right mind." Hook said, his voice still recovering from the day before.

"Either way," She began, as she walked over to where he stood. Jenna took his arm and lead him to sit on the bed. He followed, if reluctantly, and even sat cross-legged on it when she indicated him to do so, "it was silly of you, and now you're suffering the consequences."

"What are you doing?" Hook asked sharply, jerking his head away from her and then wincing from the pain when she reached out her hands towards his head.

"Would you just trust me? I'm not going to hurt you." Jenna assured him. He relented with a dubious-sounding hum, and allowed her to carry on with whatever she was doing. She placed her first two fingertips by his temples, and her thumbs underneath his cheekbones, and began to massage his head in small circles. It did not take long before Jenna had Hook blissed-out and pliant in her hands.

"Ohh..." He groaned, as she eased his self-inflicted pain. "Yes...don't you dare stop."

"See? I only want to help you." She replied, applying more pressure and eliciting another shameless moan from the Captain.

"You never cease to amaze me, Jenna. When did you learn to do this?" He asked, his eyes drooping closed in relief.

"My mum taught me when I came home for the first time with a brutal hangover, maybe even worse than the one you've got now!" She laughed, "She's always been into all that stuff; massage and healing and 'inner peace.'" Jenna laughed again, but was then struck by the first real bout of homesickness since her arrival in Neverland.

She hadn't noticed that she had stopped her movements until Hook opened his eyes and asked, "Are you alright, my dear?"

Jenna swallowed and dropped her hands into her lap. "I'm fine, don't worry." She smiled somewhat convincingly. "Just a little homesick, that's all. I'll get over it."

"You must tell me if you are unhappy, my sweet. If you wish to go home..." At this, Hook grimaced, "I will understand."

Jenna's head snapped up immediately. "Leave? I don't want to leave! And in fact I don't think I've ever been happier! This is just a bump in the road and I will get over it."

"Alright, whatever you say." He said, trying to placate her. "Now, if you could please carry on with whatever sorcery you were doing."

Jenna laughed, if feeling a little hollow, and resumed her motions in soothing James' headache. "You know..."

"Hmm." Hook replied, his eyes having again drifted shut.

"When I was in the forest, I met Peter Pan."

His eyes snapped open in an instant, all signs of relaxation now utterly lost. "And? What happened? Where was he? Did he hurt you? Speak woman!"

"I will if you let me!" She laughed. "But I can't tell you where his secret hideout is, because I promised him, but honestly I have no idea anyway. I was quite lost."

"Well, isn't that loyalty." Hook scoffed.

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" She asked, eyebrow raised.

He stood and began to dress for the day as he spoke. "I let you on my ship, I feed you, clothe you, teach you how to fight, even give you my bed for god's sake! And this is how you repay me, hm? Getting in league with my enemy. I expected better of you Jenna." He tutted.

"You are joking?" She replied incredulously.

"Certainly not! I do not know what the rules are where you come from, but in Neverland you must never, ever fraternise with the enemy. Especially not the likes of _Peter Pan._ "

Jenna fought to keep her temper and her volume under control. "I wasn't being disloyal, I was lost in the forest!"

"Yes, and who's fault was that?"

"Yours!" 

The silence was deafening then, and it made Jenna feel sick to her stomach to see Hook look so guilty and ashamed, even if it was only for a fleeting second before the façade hid him.

"Yes. Well. Perhaps it is best if you do return home."

"What? No!"

He made to leave for the cabin door. "Wendy can no doubt arrange a convoy of faeries to fly the ship to London, but that is as far as I can take you."

"James! No, I don't want- James!"

But he was already gone.

* * *

 

"Wait, so. Tell me again James. You want Jenna to leave?" Wendy asked incredulously. Herself, the Captain, and Mr Smee were sat around a small table in her cabin, discussing the situation at hand.

"Yes. Gone. I need to her leave. Immediately. As soon as possible." Hook reiterated sharply.

"Oh...but Cap'n, we thought you were rather fond of the girl." Mr Smee began, "She certainly seems to be taken with you."

"She is not safe here." He hissed in reply, "She must leave I cannot keep her here she has to-"

"James what on Earth on you going about?" Wendy interrupted. "What do you mean you want her to leave? She only just got back, and you were devastated when you thought she had run away."

"Wendy, she isn't safe. I..." Hook hesitated, then said gravely, "I hurt her."

Wendy gasped quietly. "Oh James. That's why she ran away, isn't it?"

"Yes." He admitted, hanging his head in shame. "And I do not need to be any further berated for it, I already cannot stand myself."

"But she came back. Did she not forgive you?" Mr Smee asked.

"Of course she did. That's the problem. How many times will she forgive me before I do her some serious damage?" He inhaled deeply, "I cannot trust myself not to harm her, and that is why she must leave."

Wendy leaned towards him across the small table. "You know that I feel you are too hard on yourself. And you know that I will implore you to give yourself a second chance."

"Cap'n, think how much progress you've made. Be a shame to throw it all away now. And besides..." The bosun considered his words before continuing. "you have been rather lonely. And I can't remember you being happier than when you're with the girl. Cap'n, you look you have a passion for life again!"

"That's enough Smee." Hook snarled.

"Yes Cap'n."

"I want you to talk with the faeries, arrange a convoy to London-" He stopped short when they all felt the familiar shuddering stop as the ship creaked to a halt. "Damnit, we'll never be able to get her out of the ice now."

"Well... Good! It will allow you some time to rethink your ridiculous ideas." Wendy said curtly as she stood. "I'm going to talk to Jenna, and you are not to disturb us."

* * *

Jenna emerged from the cabin shivering and shaking, teeth chattering as she hugged her arms around herself. She immediately turned around and went back inside, deciding not to brave the cold.

"This is ridiculous." She grumbled to herself. "He leaves me here, nothing to wear that's bloody warm enough. Fine." Jenna walked determinedly to Hook's wardrobe, opened the intricately engraved doors, and gazed at the frankly unnecessary array of coats, shirts, breeches, waistcoats, and the rows of cravats and boxes and boots. "Nobody needs this many coats. He won't mind if I borrow one." She perused the lot a little while longer, finally settling on a coat of deep purple, lined and patterned with gold and black fabric swirling along the seams and edges. "This'll do nicely." Jenna said, pulling on the heavy coat, shifting it over her shoulders to fit across her back. The bottom of it almost trailed along the floor, and the sleeves were far too long, but it was soft and comfortable, and Jenna found that she was quickly warming up.

She put on her boots, the task made slightly difficult because of the extra material getting in the way, but she managed, and was then ready to go outside.

"Jenna!" Wendy collided with said woman, as she had attempted to enter the cabin just as Jenna was exiting.

"Oh, hello Wendy. Sorry, are you okay?"

"Yes, are you? I think we need to have a serious talk. James has said some very worrying things."

"Oh... Sure. Just, lets go outside, I can't be cooped up in there any longer."

And so they climbed up the rigging and sat together in the crows nest.

"Alright..." Wendy began, but did not know how to continue.

"What did James tell you? Lets start with that." Jenna said.

"Good idea. James told me that...you ran away because he hurt you. Is that true?"

Jenna took a deep breath before answering, wrapping the coat tighter around herself. "Yes. I woke him from a night terror. He was disorientated and frightened, and must have thought I was trying to kill him- or something equally horrible."

"Oh Jenna, I'm so sorry."

"I'm fine, really. When I got back he was such a mess. I think he drank his bodyweight in liquor. I practically had to carry him to bed! I told him that I've forgiven him, and everything seemed fine last night, even this morning, until I mentioned that I saw Peter in the forest."

Wendy sighed, "Well, that is wont to set him off. It was very irresponsible of him, very unfair. He should have been taking care of you! It should not have been your job to-to-"

"It's alright Wendy." Jenna said. "I know you think I'm being very passive about all this, but I can't just abandon what I have here after one bump in the road. I knew he was going to difficult and dangerous and volatile, but he has a side to him that I feel I need to see more of. Wendy, I have to stand by him."

"You are too good, Jenna, truly. Unfortunately, James has got it into his head that he wants you gone! And you know how stubborn he is. I don't know how we're going to convince him otherwise."

"He can't exactly make me leave." Jenna said derisively.

Wendy only looked away, suddenly riveted by the patterns on the wood.

* * *

 

"Cap'n, please, we urge you to reconsider!" Mr Smee implored. "We've taken quite a liking to the girl too y'know, and we would miss her dearly if she were to be gone." His words were met with numerous sounds of agreement from the men who surrounded him.

"What is this?" Hook snapped. "Do you think I care for your opinions in the matter? I have made my decision and you will all do well to remember that I am your Captain, and this is most certainly _not_ a democracy."

Smee wrung his woollen hat in his hands. "Now, Cap'n, we both know-"

"No! If any of you ungrateful lot have a problem with it, you can walk the bloody plank! Or face the end of my hook if you'd prefer." He spat, before commanding them to get back to work and stay out of his affairs.

* * *

 

"I'm sorry Jenna, we've tried." Wendy said apologetically, clearly at a loss as to what to do now.

"This is ridiculous! I'll just have to talk to him myself."

"I wouldn't advise it Miss, he's in a horrible mood if I ever saw one." Mr Smee warned.

"If I don't talk to him now, it'll just get worse." And with that she turned, running up the steps to his cabin, his large coat billowing out behind her. Jenna knocked before entering, if only to alert him to her presence. Hook was sat at his desk, a map spread out on the tabletop before him, feather quill in hand. He did not look up at her entrance.

"James." She said, at which he eventually raised his head after a moment.

"Jenna." He replied shortly.

She sighed, pulling up the piano stool to sit opposite him. _This is not going to be easy._ She thought. "I'm not leaving."

"As Captain of this ship, the one in which you are presently taking residence, I decide who stays," Hook wrote something on the corner of the map, "and who goes." He replaced the quill to its ink pot, his voice measured and tight. "You may oversee the route we will be travelling to London." He edged the map closer to her.

And Jenna proceeded to rip the map in two.

"I am not leaving."

Hook sat, momentarily silenced, jaw clenched and twitching. "Listen to me, little girl,"

" _Little girl!_ "

"you will do as I say if you know what is bloody best for you!" He shouted, standing from his seat.

She stood to match him. "What's best for me is to stay here! With you!"

"What do you think is going to come of this, hm? Do you think you can _fix_ me? That you're going to be my saving grace and we're going to sail off into the sunset? Because if you do you are _sorely_ mistaken!"

"I never intended for this! Do you think I turned up here and planned on loving you?"

Hook let out an aggravated snarl and fell back into his chair, and then his shoulders slumped and he sighed deeply. When he looked back up all of the exhaustion showed on his face. "I'm tired of this, Jenna."

"So am I." She agreed, sitting back down. It was apparent that neither of them new where to go from there. "I mean it you know, I didn't count on this. And I think you'd be lying if you denied that even a little of my feelings for you aren't returned."

Hook didn't reply for a drawn out minute, Jenna fearing that she was indeed wrong, until he muttered, "You look positively radiant in my coat."

Jenna laughed at this, and Hook did too, if reluctantly. "Thank you. But you do understand that I really, really don't want to go to London, right?"

"Truthfully, I do not want you to leave either. I just wanted to protect you."

She reached across the table and grasped his hand. "That's thoughtful of you James, but it's not what either of us really want. I have forgiven you, and you should accept it gracefully and with poise."

"Come here." He said, his voice a shade rougher and the now comforting smirk returning to his features. Jenna smiled, leaning across the table to meet him halfway, sighing against his lips. He held her head in his hand, his hook threading through her hair.

"I'm so glad you're back to yourself." Jenna said softly. Hook only hummed in agreement, pursuing her lips in favour of talking. "James." He took the opportunity to slip his tongue into the welcoming heat of her mouth.

"Mmm."

"James." He nipped at her lower lip. "James, your hook, it's-"

He pulled away instantly. "I'm so sorry, where are you cut? Are you bleeding?" He hastily unscrewed the appendage, tossing it into the desk drawer and slamming it closed, then stood to frantically check Jenna for injury.

"James!" She laughed, "It was just pulling my hair! It snagged on a knot is all."

He ceased his fretting and seemed at a loss for words.

"Oh, James." Jenna said, moving around the desk to stand in front of him, hands resting on his shoulders. "Whatever am I to do with you?"

Hook's smirk darkened, and he walked her backwards into the bed, his hand moving to grip her waist, the other arm resting at her hip. "I can think of many things I would like you to do with me." He said huskily. "It is rather cold, and I have just thought of a most agreeable way to warm up."

Jenna smiled, quickly catching on, and lay back on the bed, tugging Hook down with her. "Oh really? Do share."

"I can't." He said, before standing suddenly and then trying to rebalance when he became dizzy.

"Oh yeah." Jenna said, disappointed. "You're still hungover."

He groaned painfully in agreement, bracing his forearms above his head against the bedpost and leaning heavily against it.

"You'll just have to make it up to me at a later date."

"Mm, I intend to." Hook clarified teasingly, though a little halfheartedly due to the pounding in his head.

"Have you eaten today?"

"It wasn't exactly the highest of my priorities. Besides, I don't know if I can stomach anything."

"I think you should eat something; just bread and water, nothing rich. _Definitely_ no meat."

Hook did what can only be described as a pout.

"Don't look at me that way!" Jenna laughed. "Do you want to be sick again?" He sniffed dismissively. "I didn't think so. Just take it easy for the rest of today, okay? For me?"

Hook smiled at her. "I cannot resist you. I have tamed my very own siren." Jenna presumed that it was intended as an endearment.

"Alright, come on James." She got up from where she was sat on the bed. "Pop your Hook back on and then we'll have some food."

"It doesn't _pop_ , it screws." He said, sounding mildly offended. "Where are you going?"

"To get food?"

"Right. Carry on then."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was going to be one chapter, but it was getting quite long. It's around 4000 words and I still have a load more to write. :) So, I split it into to halves, the second to follow (hopefully, most likely not cos I'm trash) shortly.

The next day Jenna told the crew that she would be staying for good. Wendy was of course both ecstatic and relieved to find out that Jenna and Hook had settled their differences, and had decided to put the whole sorry mess behind them and start afresh. In fact she was so pleased that she insisted on having a party that evening, for the whole crew, including plenty of food, drink, music, and heaven forbid, dancing.

Hook naturally offered the token refusals, but soon enough he was agreeing to the merry plans. He set the ship's cook off immediately that morning, and Jenna promised the man to come and help later in the day, as it was a rather daunting task.

"Now...what to do until then." Hook said suggestively, when Jenna and himself were alone again in their cabin.

"Feeling better are we?" She replied with a laugh.

" _Oh_ yes, and I think that we should carry on from where we left off, don't you?"

Jenna was considering it, but then the ship gave a creaking jolt, leaning precariously to one side before rebalancing in the now melting water. She just managed to keep her own balance, and said, "Or, we could do something that I've wanted to do since I got here, and haven't yet got the chance to!"

"Which _is?_ " He inquired, obviously disappointed that they would not be picking up from the previous day's activities.

"Swimming!" Jenna exclaimed, barely containing her excitement.

"Oh." Hook said, clearly not as enthused as Jenna was.

"It'll be so much fun! Oh, I've wanted to go swimming in the sea for ages. We're on a tropical island with a beautiful blue ocean, and you don't want to go swimming in it?" She asked incredulously.

"An ocean that for one will be absolutely freezing as of now, and for another is infested with mermaids, who will have no qualms with dragging you down under it." He said, and came off as rather grumpy. It only fuelled Jenna's playfulness.

"They all live in the cove, we'll be fine! Besides, I'll have my big strong pirate to keep me safe." She said, knowing full well how to manipulate him.

" _Fine_ , but if you drown, or freeze to death, or get eaten by a crocodile, it will not be my fault. Believe me, the latter is not pleasant." He added grimly.

So they climbed off the ship and walked to the sandy shore, Jenna carrying towels and Hook arguing more points as to why it was a terrible idea the entire way.

Jenna found a nice spot to leave their belongings, laying them on a cluster of rocks in the sand. She took off her boots and breeches, and then decided to throw caution to the wind and take off her shirt as well, using her bra and knickers as a substitute bikini.

"Hurry up." She said to Hook, as he had ceased his movements in disrobing himself in order to watch her.

"My apologies." He said, "But you are most distracting."

"Come on, you can't be distracted forever, or we'll never get in the water!"

"Oh, you could distract me for an eternity." He replied, and Jenna huffed self-conciously, unlacing his shirt to keep her hands busy.

Hook had left his coat on the ship, choosing only to wear a light waistcoat, which now lay upon the rocks next to Jenna's clothes.

"You can't wear that in the sea, it'll get ruined!" She said, when Hook batted away her hands when she tried to remove his harness.

"I know. I can do it." He said, almost tersely, and did so, dropping it onto the sand beside him. He rotated his right shoulder a few times, and rubbed some feeling back into the arm with his left hand, stimulating the blood supply. Jenna supposed the straps must be quite tight and uncomfortable.

"I'll get a head-start on this freezing water, shall I?" She said, before jogging off towards where the waves lapped at the darker sand. "Jesus fuck!" She exclaimed, as she ran in up to her mid thighs. "You're bloody right James! It's fucking freezing!" She then burst into laughter at the expression on the Captain's face, midway through unlacing his breeches, looking utterly astonished.

"I've never known a lady to have such colourful language." He said disbelievingly, only making Jenna laugh more.

"Get in here and you'll be swearing like- well, a sailor- too!"

"Patience woman!" Hook replied, as he removed his breeches. And then dropped his long johns as well.

"James!" Jenna squeaked indignantly, hurriedly turning away before she got too much of an eyeful.

"You don't expect me to swim with clothes on do you? Dear girl, did you not have brothers? Were you not partial to a nude dip in the lake as a child?" He asked seriously, as he too entered the water.

Jenna had waded further in, up to her shoulders in fact, and still faced away from the entirely naked pirate. "Are you...suitably submerged?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes." He sighed, as he joined her.

She turned around slowly to see him swimming towards her from the shallows, and watched him duck his head under the water for a good few seconds, before reappearing directly in front of her.

She gave a startled gasp, "That's not funny. And I can't believe you're naked!"

"What? It's perfectly natural." He replied, smoothing his hair from his face and draping it over one shoulder.

"Well, where I come from it's not decent." She said, and then turned to swim further out.

"So you can publicly display scandalous levels of affection, but you cannot swim in the body you were born in? How wonderfully strange." Hook commented as he followed her.

"Yes, well, that's how it is." Jenna said. "I find it completely mad that you won't kiss in public, but you're more than happy to just bare all when you go swimming!"

Hook effortlessly glided by Jenna's side, keeping up easily with her increased pace. "Kissing is...intimate. It is something to be shared privately between the couple. Nudity is just that, nudity. In the context of romance of course it is intimate, but it is not taken as such when you're stripping down to have a swim. What nonsense, nudity being taboo."

Jenna just made a frustrated noise and splashed him. It took him a moment to comprehend what she'd done, but he then retaliated whole-heartedly. Jenna laughed and shouted and protested that he would get saltwater in her eyes, but carried on splashing him, and he had no issues with giving as good as he got. She swam away from him, turning back to splash water in his direction, and he chased after her eagerly, doing his best at swimming through the onslaught of water.

"Got you!" He said triumphantly, as he eventually managed to grab her ankle in his hand. She kicked and flailed and laughed, trying in vain to escape, but his grip was strong and he pulled her closer, as though reeling in an excellent catch. "I have you now." He said, voice pitched low. "Stay still little siren, you can't swim away this time." He let go of her ankle once she was close enough to wrap an arm around her waist, and as he did, he pulled her tight to his chest.

"You've caught me." Jenna conceded breathlessly.

"It appears I have." He agreed, before pressing his lips to hers. Jenna yielded immediately, opening her mouth and letting him hold her up in the water. She clung to his shoulders and kissed him fiercely, both moaning into the other's mouth. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and his arms moved automatically to support her, his hand running down her back and settling firmly against her arse. Hook groaned at the contact, and broke away only to breathe, and chuckle darkly when Jenna fervently moved to kiss his face and neck. He quickly claimed her mouth again, and they kissed deeply for neither of them knew how long. Soon, however, they began to grow chilly, despite their elevated heart rates and heated interactions. Jenna shivered noticeably in his arms, and Hook decided it best to keep moving lest they do actually freeze to death.

"If we swim further along we can rest on the rocks." He suggested, referring to the stretch of large rocks jutting out into the sea from the shore.

"Alright." She agreed, and then said, "Race you!" And before he quite knew what was happening she had splashed him again and taken off in the direction of the rocks.

Hook allowed her to win only for the view when she pulled herself out of the water and onto the rocks. And of course he acted the perfect gentlemen, offering to aid her up with a helping hand on her thigh.

"James." She reprimanded, batting his wandering hand away. "I'm perfectly capable, thank you." Jenna turned and sat with her legs dangling off the edge of the rock.

Hook pulled himself up with his hand, supporting his body with his right forearm. Jenna offered her hand to pull him up, but he declined, and so she just watched.

 _The water dripping down his back is quite pretty. And oh, look, it's trailing down his rather lovely arse._ She caught herself before she could think any further along such lines, clearing her throat and facing away from Hook as he turned to sit the same way she was.

"Do you not have anything to...cover yourself with?" She asked exasperatedly.

"If it truly offends you I shall remain in the water, my dear." Hook offered, beginning to slide back into the sea.

"No no! It's fine! You don't have to do that." Jenna then blushed hotly when she realised how quickly she had stopped him.

"Very well." He smirked, and moved further up the rocks before laying down on his back, arms crossed beneath his head.

Jenna would be lying if she said that, when Hook had closed his eyes to bask in the sun, she hadn't then taken the opportunity to steal a glance at his flaccid, but still impressive cock where it lay between his legs. She took a number of opportunities in fact, her eyes tracing the trail of dark hair that led down from his navel to coarse black curls and a sizeable member nestled within them, resting conspicuously against the man's thigh.

"If you stare too long he'll get excited." Hook warned mischievously, shocking Jenna out of her silent observance.

"Sorry, I was just-" She began, embarrassed. "He?" She then asked with a laugh.

"Oh yes." Hook mused, as though it were the most mundane topic of conversation. "He often has a mind of his own, which can be rather inconvenient."

"I can't believe we're talking about your cock." Jenna said, disbelief evident in her voice, and then, in order to change the subject, she said, "What's your tattoo of?" referring to the one on his left arm.

"Hm? Oh, it's the crest of Eton College."

"I take it you were well off then?" She said, prompting him to reveal more about his life before Neverland.

"I came from a well-to-do family, yes. We were more than financially stable and so I was given a public school education, though it was always intended for me to pursue a career in His Majesty's Navy. It was something of a family tradition; my father, his father, his father before that, all sailors."

"Wow. Do you...remember your name? Your surname I mean, from before you lost your hand?"

Hook was silent for a long moment. He sat up, and the easygoing happiness they were sharing seemed to disappear. Then he spoke, slowly and measured. "I do not. No. There was no reason to remember it besides, I knew I was here for good."

Jenna immediately felt as though she'd crossed some sort of line. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. Forget I did." She then cringed at her unfortunate use of language.

"No, no, it's quite alright. Just natural curiosity. You must understand that I've been here so long that I have forgotten a great many things. But we should be getting back." He said briskly.

"Oh. Must we? Can't we stay for a little longer?" Jenna asked, wondering why he was in such a hurry.

"I made sure that there would be a hot bath waiting for us upon our return, and, as lovely as this has been, it is _bloody_ _freezing_." Hook explained, before standing up, moving to the edge of the rock, and performing a graceful dive into the sea.

"Show off!" Jenna accused, when he reemerged from beneath the gentle blue waves.

They swam back at a far more leisurely pace, Jenna actually taking the time to appreciate her surroundings. The sand was golden, the forest tall and tropical, and the way the sun glinted off the crests of the waves she thought was particularly beautiful. Jenna took immense pleasure in mussing James' hair with a towel, insisting that it needed to be dried, only relenting when she took pity on his nude and therefore probably cold state. They partially redressed, Jenna not bothering with tying her clothes, and James doing the same, as well as carrying his waistcoat over one arm. He didn't even bother putting on his harness, which surprised Jenna.

"See, didn't I say?" Hook pronounced, when they entered the cabin and found a bathtub full of steaming water waiting for them. Jenna placed her boots on the end of the bed and sighed happily.

"So, who first?"

"Ah..."

"What?"

"Nothing, it's of no consequence."

" _James_." He looked indecisive for a moment.

"I was hoping, if you are not adverse to the idea, that we could...share a bath?"

"Oh." She said simply, pondering the idea.

"Never mind, it was only a fleeting thought, a mere suggestion, and a far too forward one at that I can tell-"

"I would _love_ to share a bath with you James." Jenna interrupted his rambling, smiling warmly at him.

Hook began, but trailed off, standing before her.

"Come here." Jenna said, taking pity on the lost-looking man. She fisted the fabric of his shirt, tugging it up and over his head, letting it fall to the floor. "The water'll get cold if you just stand there."

He didn't reply, but tentatively reached for her shirt, and then stopped, fingers closing around nothing as he dropped his arm, frustration evident. Jenna pulled it off herself before he could overthink it, taking his hand and bringing it around her back, then took his right arm and held it.

"It's alright." She said simply, before bringing his arm to her lips, kissing where a hand once was and now only a stump remained.

"...Jenna." He said reverently. The scar tissue wasn't soft, or smooth, it was rough and knotted and sinewy, not at all pretty or easy on the eye like the rest of him, but it was a part of him, and she was not about to shy away from it when he was this vulnerable.

"He couldn't even show the common decency to make it a clean break?" She asked, moving that arm too around her.

It took him a moment to realise that she was making light of the situation, and he didn't know how to react. Her hands joined his behind her back when she reached to unclasp her bra, his piercing eyes unashamedly fixed on her chest as she removed it, her own eyes drawn to the raw expression on his face. He inhaled sharply and deeply, his hand moving to caress her side on it's path up her body, coming to rest against her breast. He ran his thumb across her nipple, watching, fascinated, as the little nub hardened to a pebbled peak. Jenna's breath hitched, and Hook noticed.

"I thought we were just having a bath." She said.

"We are." Hook replied, though he stepped closer until they were chest to chest, bare skin against skin, just holding her in his embrace. He placed his lips to her neck, mouthing kisses against it.

"If you carry on like that," Jenna warned, "we'll never get clean."

"Would that be such a terrible thing?" He murmured, tasting the salt on her skin.

"I said I'd help with the cooking." She said, her words lacking conviction even to her own ears.

"It can wait."

"Not now, James." Jenna insisted.

"When?"

"Tonight."

Hook stopped his attentions.

"After the party, if you're not too inebriated to _perform_ that is." This made him draw back, apparently bewildered that she had made such a joke. "Come on." Jenna said finally, fingers tracing just above his waistband, nails lightly scratching through the hair there. His muscles fluttered under her touch, and he quickly understood her meaning, taking off his breeches and long johns. "You get in first, I'll grab the soap and whatnot." Jenna said, doing just that as Hook got into the tub.

He let out a contented sigh once he was settled in the pleasantly hot water, lying back, eyes closing for a brief moment. They opened again soon enough, not wanting to miss the sight of Jenna, _his beautiful Jenna,_ removing her own breeches and underwear, and climbing into the tub opposite him. She made an equally blissful noise when she too lay down in the tub, but didn't stay settled for long. The first thing she did was dunk her head under the water, then, once she had popped back up again, reached for the soap that she had put beside the bath.

Jenna was lathering the shampoo into her hair when she felt something press at her thigh. She knew straight away what it was, purely by the look on Hook's face. It was the man's foot, as his legs were stretched out before him, and Jenna was sat somewhat in between them. He wriggled his toes in teasing, and Jenna only rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Can't you leave me alone for five minutes? You should be getting clean yourself, not distracting me."

"Mmm."

 _That seems to be his answer to everything recently._ She thought.

James did start washing himself though, picking up his own soap and running it across his chest. They cleaned in a companionable silence, washing the salt from their skin and hair, the heat of the water a welcome contrast to the cold of the sea.

"James?"

"Yes my dear?" He glanced up from rinsing his hair to see Jenna moving closer. She turned to face away from him and looked coyly over her shoulder before saying, "Will you wash my back?"

"It would be my pleasure. Come closer, that's it." He said, positioning them so that Jenna sat in front of him, legs outstretched. "Relax, please." Hook said, taking the sponge she had been using and doing as she asked.

When he had finished he began to run his fingers across her back, tracing the indent of her spine down down down until he reached the dimples at the small of her back, and then leaned in close to follow the path he had marked out with his mouth.

"James..." Jenna said, though she didn't know if it were in protest or encouragement. He took it as the latter, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his front to her back, holding her close as he kissed her shoulders. "Let me return the favour." She said, turning in his embrace. "Turn around."

Hook seemed to assess her then, only for a moment, and then he turned, apparently deeming her trustworthy to turn his back on.

Jenna found the sponge and soap, and brushed his hair over one shoulder, as it came down nearly past his middle when wet. She soaked the sponge and brought it to his shoulders before squeezing out the water and watching it fall down his well-muscled and equally well-scarred back.

"So many..." She said softly, tracing the multitude of silvery lines that criss-crossed his skin, decorating his back and sides with the memories of past violence.

"They're ugly. I know." Hook said, gruff and defensive, and it would be off-putting if Jenna didn't know better.

"Why do you always assume I don't like what I'm looking at, hm?" She asked. When she got no reply, not that she had expected one, she finished washing his back and waited until he had turned around to face her. "Look, James." She kneeled in the tub, high enough so that her stomach was above the water. "Here." Jenna pointed to the long scar on the right side of her lower belly.

"Where did you get this?" Hook asked.

"I had to have my appendix removed when I was thirteen. I didn't realise it was infected until it ruptured; I just thought it was a bout of bad cramps. If my mother hadn't phoned an ambulance I probably would have died."

"You nearly _died?_ No, I cannot fathom such an outcome." Hook said, looking up at her reverently, then slightly confused. "Phoned?"

"Never mind, that's not the point." Jenna laughed, sitting back down. "The point is...that ever scar has a story behind it, and ever scar represents a different moment in your life that has helped shape you into the person you are today." She kissed him. "So don't you _dare_ tell me they are ugly. They are a part of you, and you are beautiful."

"I am quite sure you possess wisdom far beyond your years."

"Maybe. I just think that everybody deserves to love themselves. Even pirates." She said. Jenna kissed him again, before standing up and stepping out of the tub.

Hook leaned back again against the side, and held his hand out to her. "Must you go?" He asked, as she bent over in front of him to pick up her towel. "Now that is just cruel." He crossed his arms on the side of the bath, resting his head atop them. " _Jenna_." Hook said, sounding almost pained when she began to hum as she dried herself directly in front of him.

"Stop _staring_."

"Then stop _teasing_."

"I'm not!" Though even as she said this she turned her back to him, and began to inch the towel lower and lower. She ended up tying it around her head, to keep her wet hair from dripping water everywhere whilst she got dressed.

"If I were a lesser man..." Hook growled.

"Yes?" Jenna prompted, pulling on a pair of breeches.

"If I were a lesser man, I would have you bent over my desk with those breeches around your ankles."

"Well then. It's a good thing you're not a lesser man, isn't it?" She asked rhetorically, leaning down to press a quick kiss to his lips. When she moved away he tried to reel her back in, eliciting protests from her, "I just got dry!"

"Then perhaps you shouldn't come so close to the water." He replied, as she briskly threw on a shirt and a pair of boots.

"Fine then, I won't." Jenna agreed, making for the cabin door.

"Wait! Where are you off to?" Hook asked urgently, stepping out of the tub himself and wrapping a towel hastily about his waist.

"I told you, I'm helping the cook with the food for tonight. Did you really forget?"

"I was hoping _you_ would." He grumbled under his breath. "Besides, you can't leave me now; you have put me in a most indecent state."

Jenna raised an eyebrow at the considerable bulge in the man's towel. "And I have to do something about that...why?"

Hook actually looked perplexed. "Well...because..."

Jenna wandered back over to him, standing close, but making sure not to press herself against his wet body. She ran her hand down his chest, stretching up close to whisper in his ear, an uncharacteristic streak of boldness suddenly spurring her on, "Tonight, I will have you on your knees and _begging_ for mercy before the night is done," She didn't necessarily mean what she said, but it seemed like the right thing to say, especially judging by his reaction and the way his pupils dilated, "but for now..." then she gripped him tightly through the towel, relishing the odd sort of half-squawk-half-moan he made, "you'll just have to take care of yourself." Jenna gave him a parting squeeze and a peck on the lips, and left the cabin before he could even remember how to breathe again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I promise *the scene* is coming soon, I just thought seeing as this chapter was already a couple words off 5k that I would leave it until the next. :) Thanks for sticking with this fic and its slow af author.

"You really shouldn't Miss, let it to us!" Mr Smee insisted, when Jenna offered her help in the kitchen.

"Don't be silly, I promised. I don't have anything else to do besides." She said. "And anyway, I abandoned James telling him that this is where I'd be. I don't fancy going back to him having been turned away."

"Oh, I suppose then, if only to save you face. Come on, get peeling those potatoes!" He instructed briskly.

The cook, who's name was Gabriel, 'like the angel,' he had informed her, but preferred to be referred to as just 'Gabe,' was a huge man, tall and broad, carrying a hearty amount of meat on his bones, but possessed a unique delicacy when it came to food. His palate was wasted on the crew, who tended to just wolf their meals down, and he would have been much better use in some high-end restaurant somewhere. Alas, this is where he was, and Jenna felt honoured to be able to work alongside someone who truly appreciated the culinary arts.

"It's so horrible of me, but I haven't even thought about who makes my food even once since I got here." She admitted frankly. 

"Aye, not many do." He said simply, stirring the large pot of broth on the stove.

"I should help more often. I can't believe you manage to feed the whole crew all on your own."

"Don't you worry; I've had more than enough experience coping with this lot." He replied, dicing carrots faster than Jenna could keep up with and tossing them into the pot.

They prepared the food in a comfortable silence for a long while, Jenna happy to settle into her task, Gabe whistling in the background.

"So..." The cook began, and Mr Smee tutted disapprovingly.

"I know that look Gabriel. You are a gossipmonger if I ever knew one!" He shook he head, muttering to himself.

Jenna laughed, "Go on, I won't mind. At least I don't think I will."

"I was only going to ask, seeing as we're having this party to celebrate your staying an' all; does that mean the Captain and yourself are...?" Gabe trailed off, leaving the question hanging in mid-air.

"Are we what?" Jenna asked, slightly puzzled.

"Yes Gabe, do please elaborate." Smee interjected.

"You know! Are you courting?"

"Oh!" Jenna exclaimed, relieved. "Yes, yes we are. I was worried you were going to ask something more personal."

Gabe raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "That would be terribly rude to ask personal things of a lady."

"I'm glad you think so. I'm starting to think some of the men on this ship have better manners than their captain." She said dubiously.

Some time later, when Jenna had peeled the potatoes, tasted the broth, learned how to descale fish and gutted enough for a lifetime, sliced so many limes she smelled of them, and even had to run out of the kitchen for a moment whilst Gabe boiled a few lobsters, he declared her finished.

"You've done more than enough, leave the rest to us." Gabe insisted, taking her apron when she untied it with a pout.

"Fine," She relented, "And make sure you actually get to enjoy your work later."

* * *

 

Jenna re-emerged from below deck, the sunlight blinding her for a second. It was a bright, warm day with a gentle breeze, and she hoped the weather would stay pleasant well into the evening. She scanned around at eye level for James or Wendy, but they didn't appear to be on deck. She spotted Tommy rolling out barrels of ale onto the deck, and walked over to him. "Have you seen Hook around?" Jenna inquired, helping him lift the heavy barrel upright.

Tommy looked up into the rigging, and pointed in the general direction. "Cap'n and Miss Wendy went to release the sails, Miss. They're somewhere up there, though I can't really see from the sun."

"Thanks, I'll find them." She replied, and jogged off to find a better angle. Stood in the shade cast by one of the great sails that had been let down, Jenna gazed to the sky in search of the Captain and his first mate. _There they are._ She thought once she'd spotted them, and then felt her heart leap into her throat at the same time as her stomach dropped to the floor, as she saw exactly where the two pirates were. Wendy, sat precariously atop one of the lower spars, holding idly to a hanging rope, watching as James- _oh dear god- jumped_ from one spar to that of the highest sail, above the crows nest. Jenna watched, breath held, as he hung from the wooden beam by his arms, moving further along before swinging himself up, making it all seem far too easy if she did say so herself. Once balanced, he stood, taking hold of a rope and- _he is an absolute maniac with no regard for his wellbeing and will be the death of me if he doesn't get himself killed first!-_ jumped yet again, only this time not to anything, simply wrapping around the rope and letting himself swing for a moment, before sliding down smoothly and a little too fast for Jenna's liking. Though, she had to admit, it was quite magnificent to see the mainmast fall as it was released.

In no time at all James had reached the deck, and Jenna saw him approaching. "Were you trying to get yourself killed?" She asked, slightly hysterically, as soon as he was within earshot.

"There's no need to fret, my dear, I've done it a thousand times before."

"Well I'd never seen you do it before and it was bloody terrifying, okay?" She replied, almost snapping at him.

"I'm all in one piece, my sweet." James assured her. Then he leaned in, his voice suddenly low in her ear, and said, "I thought about you."

Jenna was, unsurprisingly, confused. "What? When you jumped?"

"No!" He scowled at her misunderstanding, the moment apparently ruined for him. "When I... _you know_...took care of myself." He smirked.

Jenna supposed he thought himself seductive. "Oh! You actually- did you?" Jenna said, the realisation dawning on her.

"You didn't expect me to wait for the water to grow cold and plunge myself into it did you? Or just tuck the poor bugger away and hope he settles down on his own?" He looked at her with a start, "I haven't offended you have I? I had no intention of-"

"No, no! I don't mind." She said, laughing. "Well, I should hope so. I can't stand the idea of you thinking about anyone else." She wrinkled her nose in disgust and a tad of envy.

"I can swear that it was very much you, and only you, on my mind; and your name on my lips when I-"

"Thank you, James!" Jenna cut him off abruptly. "Is there something you wanted me for or are you just here to whisper dirty things in my ear?"

"I believe it was you who approached me," He corrected, Jenna grumbling acquiescence, "but now that you mention it, there are a few things I would be _wanting_ you for."

"James!"

"This is what I have a crew for, Jenna; they do all of the hard labour whilst we hide away in our cabin."

Jenna barked out a laugh. "That's not true and you know it."

Hook stood back and rolled his eyes. "That is irrelevant. I cannot bare waiting to have you Jenna. I am wound so tight I fear I may just explode."

"You just came." She deadpanned.

"That was hours ago." He argued.

"And it didn't even take the edge off?" She asked with a pout.

"You are being most unsympathetic." He groused.

"Yeah, well, if you weren't so bloody virile you wouldn't have this problem!" Jenna laughed.

James smiled reluctantly. "I can't say I've ever had a woman complain of my being too virile, but I suppose there's a first time for everything."

Jenna glanced away from him, head dropping, a feeling of uneasiness coming over her. "That must be so nice for you."

James was silent for a moment, sensing that something was off. The tone of the conversation had suddenly changed. "...what?"

"Nothing. I'm going to find Wendy." She said.

"I believe she went to her cabin-" James offered, confused, as she left him to release the remaining sails.

* * *

 

Wendy raised her head to glance back at Jenna when she called her name, smiling as always. "Come here, tell me what you think." She was sat on the edge of her cot, looking at something lain carefully across it.

"Oh..." Jenna said in awe. It was a dress. A beautiful silken dress of pale pink, cream, and gold, intricately embroidered with lace and brocade, layers upon layers of soft flowing fabric. Cut low at the neckline with a tight bodice leading to wide skirts and full sleeves, it was a true example of 18th century elegance. "It's magnificent. You'll look perfect in it."

Wendy smoothed some of the fabric carefully, "Thank you. I was worried that it would be too much. I'm not from James' era you see, as I'm sure you are not either, and he insisted I get it a while back. He said it was just what all the best Ladies wore."

"Don't worry. You could come to the party dressed in a flour sack and you'd still look great."

Wendy tittered at the compliment and shook her head. "You flatter me, Jenna. Darius is to be joining us- and Samuel too, though not Tabitha as she couldn't get away from work. We've been corresponding via letters you see, there is a man who keeps carrier pigeons-"

"Oh, _I see_ , you want to impress Darius. I'm sure he thinks you look beautiful whatever you wear."

"Yes, but it's a nice change from breeches, wouldn't you agree?" Wendy smiled indulgently, caressing the soft material of the dress. "I will be needing your help to dress later, you don't mind? I think Mr Smee would be scandalised if I asked him to lace my corset for me." She said with a giggle.

"Of course." She replied, coming to the realisation that she didn't have anything special to wear herself. She was about to raise this particular topic herself when Wendy stood and gestured to one of her chests at the foot of the cot.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you." She said conspiratorially, urging Jenna to open the chest and see what was inside. She knelt by the dark wooden chest and lifted the heavy lid, to reveal a mass of dusky pink and pastel blue fabric, not unlike that of Wendy's dress. She unfolded the material and stood, holding it out in front of her to admire it fully. The dress was a similar style to Wendy's, and Jenna was utterly lost for words. "Now we can both be Ladies." Wendy said from beside her.

* * *

 

Jenna had steadfastly avoided Hook since their earlier encounter. She was feeling decidedly uneasy about his attitude towards her. It took her a while to pinpoint exactly why she felt so, but when she did it was as though a light bulb had gone off in her head. _This is what I have a crew for, Jenna; they do all of the hard labour whilst we hide away in our cabin._ She felt used. Despite the fact that Hook and herself had yet to actually participate in anything truly intimate, his entire demeanour of wanting to take his pleasure when he wished, and accusing Jenna of being _unsympathetic_ and _unfair_ when she was not yet ready to further their relationship was deeply unsettling her. She knew it was something that she must discuss with him at some point, preferably soon, but she couldn't help but put it off. In fact it was only when they had set sail for the halfway point between Pan's Island and the West Port, (where Darius and Samuel were to row out to them) when Hook was busy commandeering his ship, that Jenna gathered the courage to bring it up.

Her heart stuttered at the way his face lit up when he saw her approaching.

"Jenna! Isn't it marvellous to be sailing again?" He said passionately from behind the wheel of his great ship. She hummed in agreement, her uneasiness obvious to Hook. "What is it that is bothering you, my beauty?" He asked, concern evident.

"How many..." She thought better and rephrased, "When was the last time you had relations with a woman who wasn't a prostitute?"

"I must admit, a long time." He replied slowly. "Does it bother you that I have seen them? I do not any longer; I would not whilst we are courting."

Jenna knew that he was being honest, and probably thought himself the epitome of feminism. Not that he'd know what that is. She was getting sidetracked. "Right." _In for a penny,_ she thought. "I need you to listen, James." She made sure she wasn't sharing his attention with the open sea before continuing. "We will consummate our relationship when I am ready, and no earlier." He seemed taken aback. "And if I am to stay I want to be _useful._ I have to have a role on this ship beyond 'Captain's Concubine.' I don't just want to be your personal bed warmer, I- I can't just live in your cabin and do nothing but be there for you to take your pleasure whenever you please."

Hook closed his eyes and shook his head minutely before looking back at Jenna. "I...thought you enjoyed the way I spoke. It was intended as light hearted flirtation. When you spoke that way to me after our bath, I thought you wanted reciprocation."

"I did, I just-" She sighed, "We are from very different cultures, James, and I'm just worried that your view of what is a woman's place is vastly different from mine."

"Your place?" He whispered absently to himself, almost mouthing the words. "It is...wherever you want it to be." He gestured for her to come close, and when she did he reached out and held her against him. "I can only hope," Hook said sincerely, "that you want your place to be by my side."

Jenna was almost overwhelmed with relief, and then affection for the man. "Of course I want that." She said, resting her head against his chest. She tilted her face up to meet him in a kiss.

"And certainly not underneath me..." He rumbled. "Unless that's what you want." She bit his lip.

* * *

 

"Come on, pull it tighter! Darius will be arriving soon and I have to be ready!" Wendy urged, bracing herself against a bedpost as Jenna stood behind her and tried, with all her might, to lace up Wendy's corset as tight as possible.

"You won't be able to breathe if I make it any tighter!" She said incredulously.

"Fine, fine, just tie it up then, quickly." Wendy relented. Jenna did, and then helped her into her dress that went over the top of the many undergarments. There was the corset, hosiery, garter, and the frankly ridiculous wired underskirt that made the dress flare so far out from her waist. "Excellent!" Wendy said satisfactorily, once they were both fully dressed. Well, almost; Jenna had forgone the corset, having never worn one before and fearing that she may pass out.

Wendy had put up their hair in beautiful Dutch braids. Her own plait lay elegantly and simply over one shoulder, while Jenna's was a more intricate affair, a braid curving round the front of her head and coiling into a bun at the nape. They both looked like fine young ladies, though, if you paid attention, you would catch a glimpse of leather boots peaking out from underneath their voluminous skirts.

* * *

 

Darius and Samuel's little row boat was hauled up via rope pulleys once they arrived, and they were welcomed onto the ship with hearty greeting by the crew, though Darius was still wary of their Captain. The atmosphere soon picked up as the drink began to flow, the barrels of ale stood side by side serving as a long stretch of table top. The food was laid out upon them, Gabe having truly outdone himself. The positively humongous pot of broth stood next to an equally large one of meat and vegetable stew, and those were surrounded by all kinds of fish, sea food, meat, salad leaves, and potatoes. And everything was adorned with lime. Gabe had told Jenna that there would be no scurvy amongst any men eating his food.

Some of the men had even dug out instruments that they played; flutes and fiddles and a few bearskin drums that they had crafted themselves. The music would begin once everyone was tipsy enough for a dance, Jenna thought.

"I must admit, I am rather nervous." Wendy confided, just before they were about to join the party. "I spoke to James earlier, and I told him that I want him to make peace with Darius. He had one of his entirely unreadable expressions on and now I don't know what to think."

"I wouldn't worry yourself about it. James isn't going to ruin the fun over their stupid fight. In fact, he might even do as you asked, for you." _I only hope I'm right._ Jenna thought desperately. "Come on, we can't wait forever." She said, urging them to join the rest of the people on deck.

The ship was positively abuzz when they emerged from below decks, everybody having a proper, merry time of it. But then it...stopped. It went quiet; and heads turned. Jenna lead the way, as the party was in her honour, with her head held high. Though, she couldn't avoid feeling self-conscious with everybody looking as they were.

She looked over at James. He looked almost frozen mid-conversation, body half turned towards her and half still facing the pirate he had been conversing with. Then, as the women approached, he turned fully towards them, and made an almost tentative step forward. Once they were face to face, Wendy stood off to the side slightly, Jenna did what only felt appropriate when greeting an eighteenth century pirate Captain decked out in all his finery, and curtsied. She bowed her head low and picked up her skirts as she did so, painfully aware of the silence thick and stifling in the air.

"Miss Lois," He said, deeply, lowly, veneratively, "it is an honour to welcome you aboard my ship as an official member of my humble crew." Then he took her hand in his, bent over it, and placed a kiss atop the knuckles.

"I look forward to a future alongside you, Captain." She replied, then stepped aside, allowing Wendy to take her place. All eyes were still on them.

"Captain." Wendy addressed him, curtseying. "I trust you have given thought to my request?" Jenna tried not to crumble under the tension of the moment.

"I have." Hook replied. Wendy only stared the man down, forcing him to elaborate. "And...I believe it to be in our best interests if..." Wendy raised her chin in defiance, daring him to make the wrong move, "I make peace with Mr. Ashwood."

Jenna almost sagged with relief. She thought Wendy would have too if her corset wasn't holding her rigid. Heads turned again when Darius stumbled forwards, Samuel having pushed him out of the small crowd.

"Mr. Ashwood." Hook addressed him formally.

"Captain." The poor man was clearly terrified, though he gathered his resolve and stood tall before Hook, shoulders squared and chest puffed out. "I have come to the conclusion that, if Wendy has chosen you to be hers, then you must be a good man. The time has come for me to realise that our Wendybird is... _all grown up,"_ He glanced fondly at the young woman. He paused, then brought his hook closer, "However, if I find that you have betrayed her, or have taken advantage of her love for you, I will be making good on the warning I left you the last time we had an... _altercation."_ Hook warned menacingly, "That is," he added, "if Red Handed Jill doesn't gut you first."

And then the whole company burst into cheers and applause and whistling, some of them picking up their instruments and beginning an upbeat, fast paced jig.

"May I have this dance?" Hook asked Jenna.

"Of course, but I warn you that neither do I know this particular style of dance, nor have any actual ability at dancing at all."

"Well then, it's a good thing I'm an accomplished enough dancer for the both of us!" He replied, pulling her into the mass of men who had paired up and begun dancing, Jenna laughing at the audacity.

"I'm afraid you'll have to go slower, James, my dress is getting caught up!" She said, as he whipped her round at the cue of the music.

"I'm afraid that simply isn't possible my dear! The musicians won't allow it!" He replied, stepping, though it was more like jumping now, faster than Jenna could keep up with. It wasn't such a great hardship though, she thought, as James easily held her and moved her along at the set pace. She glimpsed Wendy and Darius dancing too, as they brushed past each other in their couples, a look of utter delight on both the women's faces.

James' hook suddenly pressed firmer on her waist, and he looked down at her with a quizzical expression. "You..." He paused, breathed in, as though daring himself to continue, "are not wearing a corset."

"No." She replied nonchalantly, getting the hang of the dance now. "Is that a problem?"

"It is rather...improper."

"I haven't been wearing one this entire time James. What's the difference now that I'm wearing a dress?"

"There just is, that's all."

"Well I do hope it won't be too much of a distraction for you this evening."

Hook pulled her tightly against him in response. "I suppose we shall have to see. The feel of you, so soft against me..."

"Just enjoy the dance, there's plenty of time to think about that later." Jenna told him, just as the song came to a climactic end.

Hook stepped back from her, bowing slightly. "It was an honour."

"Why thank you Captain, I can say the same for you. Now lets drop the formalities and get some food, I'm starving." 

* * *

 

With a bowl full of stew and half a coconut full of milk, Jenna sat on the side of the ship, skirts almost brushing the deck. "I told you this would be fun." Wendy said giddily, before taking a sip from her coconut. "Delicious."

"Mmm." Jenna agreed, only half paying attention. She was watching Hook, who was stood on the opposite side of the deck, in animated conversation with some of the men. She was thinking about how astoundingly handsome he was when he really smiled.

"Oh, Jenna." Wendy began, apparently having read her mind. "It is marvellous to see him so happy. When I first came to Neverland- I was only a child mind you- well, even a child can tell when a man is utterly miserable."

Jenna focussed onto Wendy then. "Oh?"

"Yes... I may not have realised it then, but to be constantly so fearful, so angry? And vengeful and so alone- how could he not be miserable?"

"I see..." She said. "That's so sad. What was he like when you came back?"

"He seemed much the same initially, though with an extra confidence about him since he'd slain that dreadful crocodile."

"I can imagine." Jenna snorted.

"But then after a while I realised he was quite...well, frazzled." Wendy laughed. "He was just all over the place! If you think he's mercurial now, you've seen _nothing_." She smiled sadly. "He was exhausted. It's a good thing I returned when I did, because I don't know what he would have done much longer."

Jenna thought sadly that Wendy was James' saving grace. If she hadn't returned- she didn't want to think on it.

A couple of hours into the evening and it was finally dark, the night sky having settled in over the daytime blue. The musicians had taken a break to eat, drink, and join in on the merriment, and were now back to play again. They picked up their respective instruments and began a slow, sedate tune; it was undeniably romantic.

Jenna raised her eyebrows in a mocking fashion at Hook, gesturing to where there was space made on the deck to dance. He made to hold her like he had before, but she stopped him and smiled. "Oh no, this time we're going to do it my way." She told him, as they walked into the centre. He allowed her position him, hook and hand around her waist as she placed her own arms around his neck.

"I do say," Hook whispered on an exhale, as they began to sway, "this is rather intimate."

"That's the point." Jenna replied with a smile, moving them slowly along to the music. Wendy was quick to follow their lead, pulling Darius into the close embrace; not that either Jenna or Hook noticed. They were too lost in each other to take notice of anything outside the intimate bubble that was their dance.

"You've got to be kidding me." Jenna laughed quietly.

"What is it, my dear?" Hook inquired, lips brushing her cheek as he spoke.

"Look." He did, and saw a multitude of what could have been mistaken for fireflies light up their dark surroundings- that is, if one were not in Neverland and didn't give the fairies a second glance. The tiny creatures emitted such perfect, soft light, glinting and tinkling as they hovered around the ship. "How is this so perfect?" Jenna sighed wistfully, and Hook could only reply with a kiss.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. It's been almost two years since the last chapter but I'm finally finishing this story! I have loved writing this so so much, it's brought me so much joy over the years. I started writing it when I was 12, and finished it at 17. It's been such a pleasure to receive comments and kudos from people, especially the loyal readers that stuck with me even when I hadn't updated for over 6 months. Thank you so much, and I hope you enjoy this final chapter.

After dancing well into the night, and watching many of the crew fall asleep on deck due to the intoxicating mixture of good food, excitement, and alcohol, Jenna and Hook decided it was time to retire to their cabin.

"You know, I find myself rather pleased that I agreed to this." James commented as they walked up the stairs together, Jenna's hand perched atop his hook.

"Me too. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun." In fact, Jenna found that she couldn't remember much of anything from her old life, but she didn't wish to dwell on it at that moment, not when the night sky was so clear and the stars reflected in the Captain's eyes.

Hook hummed in agreement, holding the door open for Jenna to walk through. She curtseyed with a playful smile, waiting for him to close it behind him before she backed him up against the wood.

"Now..." She said quietly, fisting her hands in the lapels of his coat.

"It appears you have me right where you want me, Miss Lois." Hook murmured, as she pushed the fabric from his broad shoulders.

"So it does." She replied, her fingers making their way to his collar, where they began to untie his cravat. She was hindered, however, when Hook decided he would rather kiss than get undressed.

"Impatient." He slurred against her lips, causing her to laugh incredulously.

"Says you!" Jenna replied indignantly, pushing him hard into the door at his back.

He grunted in response, holding his hook away so as not to damage Jenna's dress. "I think," he said in between kisses, "we should relocate."

"Alright." Though neither made any immediate move to do so.

Eventually they did begin to slowly manoeuvre over to the bed, trying not to walk into the bookcases on the way. Upon reaching the four-poster, Jenna pushed Hook down onto it, climbing up and straddling his waist once he'd shifted further up the bed.

Jenna ran her hands across his chest, fingers sliding under his deep purple waistcoat and further still, slipping between the laces on his shirt.

"First things first." Hook said, pushing up into a sitting position so that he could unscrew the metal from his wrist, leaning over to place it carefully on his bedside table. "We certainly don't want any bloody accidents ruining our fun now, do we?"

"Definitely not." Jenna agreed, unbuttoning the waistcoat and tossing it behind her when he shifted it off. "Arms up!" She instructed, Hook obeying so that she could pull his shirt over his head and throw that, too, to join the growing accumulation of clothes scattered around the room. "May I?" She asked, gesturing to his harness, and he nodded silently, piercing eyes following her hands as she unbuckled it.

Hook stretched out his arm and massaged the feeling back into it, the muscles shifting beneath tanned skin and the dusting of dark hair.

Jenna pushed him to lay back down, humming in satisfaction at having the Captain half-naked beneath her.

"Beautiful." She said reverently, gazing at the way his black curls splayed across the pillows, shaping his handsome face and sharp blue eyes, which were focussed entirely on her.

"It is a heady feeling, Jenna, having you admire me so." Hook said, his hand resting at her waist, holding her gently.

She leaned down and kissed the despondent look from his face, smoothing tresses of hair from his cheeks.

"As magnificent as you look in this dress, I think we should get you out of it." Hook smirked then, his hand reaching around Jenna's back to undo the buttons.

"Good luck with that." She snorted in reply, bunching up the skirts in her arms and dropping them unceremoniously into their laps.

He smiled, popping the buttons all the way down her back. "We have all the time in the world." He said, contentment evident in the relaxed line of his shoulders and the gentleness of his eyes.

"I didn't really think this through." Jenna sighed, sounding decidedly put out as she climbed off the bed and sat at the end of it. She pulled off her boots with considerable effort, and said, "I am glad I didn't wear the corset; this is hard enough as it is." She huffed once she was stood, hands on hips. Then she looked at James expectantly, "It was a two-person job to get it on, it's going to be a two-person job to get it off."

Jenna laughed when Hook eagerly moved to her side, helping her lift the top layer of the dress over her head. It was a struggle, but they managed, pulling it off in a fit of giggles. Well, Jenna was laughing at least; Hook was too busy unlacing the underskirt, nimble fingers pulling apart the strands in seconds. He also had no objection to helping her shimmy out of the skirt, kneeling in front of her, his hand squeezing the back of her thigh.

Jenna most definitely did not squeak when he pressed his face into the bare skin of her midriff, mouthing at the soft flesh, his curls tickling her sides. She placed a hand atop his head, petting the soft strands. "Come on." She urged eventually, lifting his chin to face her and guiding him to stand.

"Lay down for me, my dear." Hook took charge this time, taking off his boots and breeches when Jenna did as he suggested, leaving him in just a pair of knee length underwear, nothing akin to such garments of Jenna's era. He joined her on the bed and crawled over her, bracketing her smaller body between his strong legs, leaning over her to kiss her eager lips. His hand snaked around her back to the clasp on her bra as he kissed her deeper.

"You wear too many layers." She commented, toying with the buttons on his underwear.

"Says the woman with this ridiculous clasp on her infuriating undergarments!" He complained, as he was entirely unable to unclasp her bra.

Jenna laughed into his shoulder, pushing him back to give her space to sit up. "Don't worry, most men can't undo it either, and they've got two hands to do it with." She unclasped it with practised ease, tossing that too onto the floor.

Hook scooped her up into his arms with a growl, causing Jenna to wrap her legs around his waist and let him grace her neck with open-mouthed kisses, giggling when he passed a ticklish spot, and digging her heels into his back when he returned to it just to evoke her reaction. Laying her back down atop the bedsheets, Hook trailed kisses further down her chest, stopping when he came to a pink, peaked nipple, gusting his hot breath over it.

"Oh for fuck- go on!" Jenna urged him, "I can feel you're hard through your pants, so I don't know what you're waiting for!"

He smirked when he took the hard little nub into his mouth, sucking brazenly and thumbing the other as Jenna pushed her chest into the contact, her encouragements coming out light and breathy. "Yes, James, keep- ah," She stuttered, breath hitching when he pinched one, grinning hungrily as he watched his ministrations.

"So lovely, my sweet girl..." He muttered, lavishing as much attention on the right as he did on the left, only relenting when Jenna began to keen for more.

"Get- get," She began, trying to organise her scattered thoughts. She scowled when Hook seemed only too pleased to see that he had managed to discombobulate her, prompting a rumbling chuckle from the man.

"What's that face for, my dear? I do so wish you would smile for me." He said in mock-sympathy.

"Get your bloody pants off and come here!" She laughed, having managed to recover from his wicked teasing. She watched in anticipation as he removed them, following the trail of black hair down from his navel to where his cock hung hard and heavy between his thighs. "God, you're something to write home about." She muttered to herself, though Hook caught the quiet words and looked perplexed.

"If you wished to send letters you need only have asked... Though I'm not sure why you would be telling your relatives about me in such an intimate manner."

"James, no," Jenna laughed, "it's just an expression! God, could you imagine?"

"I don't think I want to..." He mused, stretching out beside her. "Lets take down your hair." He suggested, and Jenna agreed contentedly, both of them sitting up so that he could untie her braids, her mousy tresses falling about her shoulders. Hook hummed into the side of her neck, arms wrapping around her, embracing her. "You smell delicious..." He murmured, holding her tight, her back pressed against his front.

Jenna giggled again when he peppered kissed onto her shoulder, moving down her arm, across her chest. He manoeuvred around her so that he was in front of her, facing her, and gently urged her to lay back onto the pillows.

"Now..." Hook said, voice pitched low and rough, looking all too self-satisfied for Jenna's liking.

And then the lanterns went out.

Jenna burst into peals of laughter, unsurprised that the world would be conspiring against them. "When did you light them?" She asked, grasping for him in the pitch darkness. "And why on earth did you close the shutters on the portholes?"

"I don't recall, perhaps before we set sail?" He replied distractedly, as he had crawled over her and was now attempting to cover every inch of exposed skin with kisses.

"Calm down there, Captain." Jenna teased, wriggling out of his grip and stretching across to reach for the bedside table. She eventually managed to find the drawer, rummaging around inside before exclaiming, "Aha!" once she had her hands on the matchbox. She rolled back over and struck a match, "Stop it you; I'll set your bloody hair on fire if you're not careful."

This elicited a hearty chuckle from Hook, who was in fact in the process of pulling her underwear down and off her legs.

Jenna tried to focus on relighting the lamp, she truly did, but it was terribly difficult a task when she had a large hand squeezing her thigh, and questing lips kissing a path down her back. She abandoned the now burnt out match with a huff, and then abandoned Hook on the bed in favour of making her precarious way over to the windows, unlatching the shutters and opening them wide. Hazy shafts of pale moonlight filtered across the room, casting James in a silvery, ethereal light.

Jenna sighed wistfully at the sight of him, such an impossibly dominating presence, and yet so vulnerable, bare and waiting for her. His scars were particularly visible now, almost glistening, illuminated as they were in the lunar glow.

"That's better, hm?" She said, rejoining him on the bed, and this time intent on staying there.

"I suppose..." He conceded, "You do look rather beautiful in this light." She ducked her head at the compliment, but he tilted her chin and met her lips in a kiss, sweet and chaste, his thumb brushing across her cheek. "I feel as though I have waited an eternity for this."

Jenna smiled, "Then stop waiting." 

* * *

 

If her thoughts were at all coherent in that moment, Jenna would have questioned why she ever worried that Hook would be too concerned with his own pleasure to take care of hers, but with his head between her thighs and Jenna fast approaching her third orgasm, she could barely string together anything that wasn't a repetitive mantra of James James James.

Her fingers clenched where they were entwined in his hair and the bedsheets, back arched, cheeks flushed, breath coming fast and light. Hook pushed her legs further apart when they threatened to close, trailing kisses along her inner thighs. He nipped at the soft skin, breathing deeply and letting out a rumbling moan. He raised his head to look up at Jenna, a self-satisfied smile teasing at the corner of his lips. "You taste just as delicious as you smell."

Jenna exhaled shakily, her body all alight with endorphins. "Get up here." Hook complied readily, moving up her body in tantalising caresses, reaching her eager mouth and kissing her soundly, Jenna tasting herself on his tongue.

"Can I have you, my beauty?" Hook asked against her skin, the cadence of his voice so deep and dark, retaining its cultured quality yet. Jenna wondered how a voice managed to be so proper and yet so sinful all at once, though she knew it had all to do with the man it belonged to. She shivered at his words, jittery with anticipation when he whispered filthily in her ear. "Wholly, fully, let me possess you. I want it, Jenna, oh how I want you. The need to feel you around me is as strong as the pull in my lungs to breathe, my dear."

"Yes yes yes, James, yes." Jenna replied wholeheartedly, clasping his face in her hands and kissing him again. She hooked her leg around his hip, pressing them closer together.

Hook pushed himself up onto his elbows so that he was suspended above Jenna, and reached down, taking his cock in hand and giving it a few short, hard strokes before positioning at her entrance. He dropped his head as he began to push in, the intensity of the feeling making his breath ragged.

Jenna let out a half-moaned sigh, stroking her hand down his back, canting her hips once he was fully inside her. She used her other hand to brush aside the heavy locks of hair that had fallen across Hook's eyes, meeting those piercing blues and feeling them cut deep into her soul. "Ohh, James..." Was all she could manage, her voice breaking off when he pulled out slightly and thrust back in, his arms straining where they supported him.

"It's so much better than I imagined." He confessed, establishing a rhythm in the movement of his hips, bringing his knees underneath him to better thrust into Jenna.

"You're perfect," She replied immediately, "so good, so good. More, James." Jenna pulled him down for a kiss as she wrapped her legs around his waist, keening into his mouth when he picked up the pace. "Fuck me, fuck me oh god James please!"

"What a filthy mouth..." Hook replied. His words suggested he disapproved, but the tone of his voice and the look on his face contradicted that notion entirely. "My wanton little minx, you are magnificent. God knows how I waited so long for this my dear, I will surely go mad knowing the feel of you now."

"Fuck, James, harder." Jenna implored, smiling insuppressibly at his words. "I've been going mad all this time! God, you don't know what it's like sleeping next to you every night, you're so beautiful." Jenna's heart broke at the way his eyes suddenly flitted across her face, searching frantically for any sign of insincerity, where they naturally found none. "And I know you don't see it, you don't believe me, but god I'm going to tell you again and again and again until you bloody well do, and then I'm going to carry on telling you because you deserve to know, and I love the way you look when your ego gets stroked, like you're god's bloody gift to the world-" Hook silenced her with another head-spinning kiss, angling his hips so that he hit that perfect spot on every thrust, eliciting a moan from Jenna every time skin hit skin. "Yes, right there, oh god James I'm so close!"

"You never bloody shut up do you?" He asked in mock anger, kneeling more upright and grasping her hip in his hand, "You're intoxicating; your smell, your taste, the feel of your hair, the softness of your skin, the tight heat of your cunt, lord! All I can think about is you, you are all encompassing!"

"And you say I can't be quiet!" Jenna laughed ecstatically, gasping and moaning between thrusts, her body writhing underneath him.

James leaned over her again, dragging his lips up her body and meeting her mouth in a messy junction of half-formed kisses and heavy, panting breaths. Jenna felt the building pleasure of her orgasm begin in the very core of her, the feeling growing and causing her to grasp onto her bed-partner tighter than before, and to say imploringly, "I'm going to- Ah, James!- I'm going to come, don't you dare stop now!"

Hook grinned down at her, immensely pleased at her words, "Believe me, I have absolutely no intention of stopping." He assured her, once again taking her mouth in a searing kiss.

Hook's thrusts became erratic as he put more force behind them, fast approaching completion himself, and Jenna's grip tightened where she held the Captain's shoulder and the back of his neck, her fingers flexing against the strong muscle. "I cannot hold on much longer my dear, surely you will be my undoing." He gasped out.

Then, for the first time in their ardent coupling, both partners fell silent, entirely lost for words at the intense feeling that overcame them. Jenna's back arched as waves of pleasure crashed over her, rolling through her body. She willed her eyes to stay open, if only to see Hook at this shared moment of ecstasy. Hook himself finally let go, succumbing to the feeling and shuddering in his release, grasping onto Jenna with a new desperation. His eyes shuttered closed and he dug his palm into the bedding to stop himself from collapsing atop Jenna, instead rolling over and falling to the side of her.

When Jenna had recovered enough strength and composure to open her eyes- though she was not sure when exactly she had let them close- she turned her head to gaze at the man laying next to her. They lay, skin damp with sweat, minds hazy in a state of post-orgasmic bliss, their chests rising and falling as they caught their breath.

Jenna let out a satisfied sigh and flopped her arm onto Hook's front, stroking across his skin, making him start when she brushed a nipple. "Ooh, sensitive." She commented, then burst into giggles. Hook's response was a deep hum, and he turned his body to face Jenna.

"Please, enough, no more!" He feigned begging with a smile, "Though if you are not satisfied I am willing to aid you further..." The smile turned into a smirk as he ran his hand down the front of her body, Jenna catching it in her own just before it reached it's goal. She entwined their fingers together and brought them up to her lips to place a kiss upon their clasped hands.

"No, no, I am. I really am." She assured him with a laugh. "You're... talented, to say the least."

"Mmm, you know exactly what to say to stroke this old man's ego." He replied.

"James, you're not old. Though, spending too much time with a twelve year old will make you feel that way, I'm sure!"

Hook groaned and grimaced in disgust, rolling again onto his back, "Ohhh, may we not speak of him now?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's not the time or place." Jenna laughed again, pressing closer so that her head rested upon his chest, and she could place an arm comfortably around his body. "Mmm, what time is it?" She asked in between a large yawn.

Hook gave her a pointed look. "Jenna, I do not own any clocks; they all tick."

"You should get yourself a sundial or something." She suggested, not entirely seriously.

"The cabin doesn't get enough light for that I think." He replied, in complete seriousness.

Jenna hummed humorously to herself at his response, "Yeah, yeah, you're right."

Hook narrowed his eyes at her, "Oh, you were joshing; I see." He said, feigning offence and shifting away from her on the bed, "I am glad your amusement comes so keenly at my personal expense."

Jenna laughed and moved closer again, placing a kiss against his shoulder. "You shouldn't take yourself so seriously James."

"I couldn't possibly do that; I have a reputation to uphold." He pouted.

"Not with me you don't."

Hook gave her another calculating look, as though he couldn't quite believe this girl had convinced him to show such a level of vulnerability. "Hmm. I do suppose your words have some merit."

"Lots of merit, actually."

"That too."

Jenna glanced away for a scarce moment. "I love you."

Hook swallowed. "I... find that I return the sentiment wholeheartedly."

"'I love you too,' would've done fine." Jenna smiled at Hook.

He took a moment to respond, gathering her closer to him as though he needed the reassurance that she was really there. "I did not think myself capable of that particular emotion anymore. So. Thank you for proving me otherwise, Jenna. I..." Hook paused again, taking a steadying breath, "I love you."

Jenna willed back the tears that threatened to spill, feeling them well suddenly in her eyes as she gazed up at the man that filled her heart so completely. "Let's sleep, love." She suggested, climbing under the eider, letting Hook acclimatise to the new pet-name.

"I rather like that you know." He murmured against her skin once they were settled again, "It says that you are not ashamed to call me your love. That is something of a novel concept for me."

Jenna sighed as yet another aspect of Hook was revealed to her, and once again it seemed rather tragic to her. "Then I'll make sure to call you it as often as I can. Because I love you." Jenna grinned then, feeling a rush of joy at being able to say it, "I love you I love you I love you." She felt Hook's heartbeat speed up in his chest at her words.

"Mmm, time for sleep I think." He reiterated, shifting further down into the sheets. Jenna followed, closing her eyes in contentment.

They both then drifted off to sleep, perfectly, finally, happy in each other's arms.

 

  



End file.
